HONOLULU (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board has concluded that 21 containers fell into the Pacific Ocean last year because they had been improperly stacked on a barge operated by Young Brothers in Hawaii.
The report issued on April 6 said the probable cause for the incident was the company’s failure to provide workers with a plan when the barge was being loaded in Honolulu.
The board determined that four stacks of 40-foot (about 12 meter) shipping containers were loaded improperly, with the heaviest on top and the lightest on bottom. They should have been loaded with the lightest on top.
Eight containers were recovered and 13 others were never found. The incident caused an estimated $1.5 million cargo loss and over $130,000 in damage to the barge and containers, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
Young Brothers’ terminal operations director, Chris Martin, said the company has added safety measures since the incident but is still considering other measures.
“We have implemented enhanced safety measures since our first loss of containers overboard in more than 20 years,” Martin said. “We are carefully reviewing the report and considering the appropriate next steps.”
