Classification
- Incident type: Cargo Loss
- Severity: Low
- Region: North Sea
- Evidence level: Secondary coverage only
Vessel Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Vessel Name | Munkebo Maersk |
| Vessel Type | Container |
| Flag State | Denmark [DK] |
| IMO Number | 9632117 |
| Gross Tonnage | 194849 |
| LOA (m) | 399.0 |
| Breadth (m) | 60 |
| TEU | 18,270 |
Incident Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Date | 2017-01-04 |
| Location | North Sea, en route from Rotterdam to Bremerhaven; cargo later washed ashore on Langeoog, Germany |
| Region | North Sea |
| Coordinates | 53.8000, 7.5000 |
| Cargo Loss | 5 containers lost overboard |
Key facts
- The vesseltracker ship-page news item gives the date as 4 January 2017 and states that Munkebo Maersk lost five containers while sailing from Rotterdam to Bremerhaven.
- Cargo from one lost container, including toy-filled plastic eggs, washed ashore on Langeoog. WATERKANT also described LEGO bricks, Star Wars figures, network cables, and stroller frames among the washed-up goods.
- The reviewed coverage does not provide a formal loss position, a monetary damage figure, or a separate casualty count. Silence in the secondary reports is not treated as confirmation of zero fatalities, injuries, or missing persons.
Narrative
The available secondary reports describe a weather-related cargo-loss event involving Munkebo Maersk in the North Sea. The vessel was sailing from Rotterdam toward Bremerhaven when five containers went overboard on 4 January 2017. The vesseltracker item states that the ship berthed in Bremerhaven early on 5 January, which supports the sequence of the loss during the preceding passage.
The aftermath became visible on Langeoog, where cargo from at least one lost container washed ashore. Port Technology highlighted toy-filled plastic eggs that brought public attention to the loss. WATERKANT described a broader spread of plastic goods along the Wadden Sea coast and identified the vessel's route as Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, and Gdansk. The reports frame the case as a container loss followed by shoreline debris and cleanup concerns, rather than as a grounding or collision.
The sources do not establish the precise position at which the containers were lost, the sea state or wind conditions at that position, the condition of the remaining cargo, or any quantified cleanup or economic loss. They also do not provide an official investigation account or a separate number for fatalities, injuries, or missing persons. Those fields therefore remain unresolved.
Investigation
No official investigation report is identified in the references for this page. The available evidence consists of a Port Technology brief, a WATERKANT article, and a dated vesseltracker ship-page news item. The exact loss position, formal weather record, owner or operator response, casualty totals, direct financial damage, and cleanup cost remain open questions.
References
- SRC-LOCAL-20260422: Port Technology brief
- SRC-LOCAL-20170107: WATERKANT, Plastikeier im Wattenmeer
- SRC-LOCAL-20170105: vesseltracker, Container loss in the Northsea