Three Containers Plunge into Water After Ship Collision at Nansha Port
In a late-night maritime mishap, three containers fell into the waters of the southern Chinese port of Nansha after a collision between two ships on 21 September.
At approximately 9.45 pm local time, the FESCO vessel Vladivostok, a 1998-built 1,748 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) container ship, was docked at Nansha Phase III Container Terminal during loading and unloading operations. The ship, which operates between Vietnam, southern China, and Vladivostok, Russia, was suddenly struck by another ship.
The other vessel involved, De Xin Shang Hai, a newly-built 2,070 TEU domestic container ship from Jiangxi Dexin Shipping, was nearing the terminal after arriving from Hong Kong on its maiden voyage. Upon contact with Vladivostok, the impact sent three containers tumbling into the water.
Responding quickly to the potential hazard, the Guangzhou Maritime Search and Rescue Centre dispatched two patrol vessels, Haixun 09077 and Haixun 09079, as well as two tugboats, to retrieve the containers and prevent disruptions to navigation and terminal activities.
By 11.20 pm, two of the containers were secured to the side of the Vladivostok, while the remaining container was reinforced by another tugboat to prevent it from drifting further out to sea. This effort allowed for more thorough salvage operations to proceed safely.
At 2.45 am the following day, a salvage vessel arrived on the scene and began full recovery efforts. By 8.30 am, all three containers had been successfully retrieved, enabling terminal operations to continue as normal.
As of now, both the Vladivostok and De Xin Shang Hai remain anchored at Nansha, awaiting further investigation and damage assessments.
