Estimate rises for containers lost from MSC Zoe

The new assessment increased by more than 50 to at least 345 containers lost from the early January incident in the North Sea.    The estimated number of containers lost from the MSC Zoe in early January has grown to at least 345, Dutch agency Rijkswaterstaat reported Wednesday after being informed by the Mediterranean Shipping Company.
   The updated estimate, which was over 50 more than the previous assessment, came after more of the remaining containers were unloaded from the vessel at Poland’s Port of Gdansk. A final count of the number of lost containers is expected next week from the shipowner, Rijkswaterstaat said.
   Initial estimates were that as many as 270 containers were lost, but the number increased to 291 after the 19,224-TEU ship docked in Bremerhaven, Germany, for inspection and the offloading of damaged containers.
   The number of containers with hazardous substances remains unchanged, Rijkswaterstaat said. 
   Heavy weather was blamed for the containers washing overboard as the MSC Zoe, built in 2015, sailed from Sines, Portugal, to Bremerhaven, Germany. The vessel was on voyage FS848W of MSC’s Silk service between the Far East and North Europe when the Jan. 2 incident occurred.
   MSC took responsibility for the cleanup.