Three 40-foot containers that fell overboard from a containership during cargo operations at the Port of Los Angeles have been recovered, allowing authorities to reopen the affected waterway.
The incident occurred on September 15 at Berth 302. The US Coast Guard established a 400-yard safety zone while response teams located the containers and secured the area.
One container was recovered shortly after the incident. The other two sank, but responders located and marked their positions for salvage. All three were carrying non-hazardous cargo, according to the Coast Guard.
Commercial salvors used flotation equipment to recover one of the submerged containers. Divers located the box and attached flotation bags before inflating them to bring it to the surface.
The second submerged container was recovered on Tuesday morning without further incident. The Coast Guard then lifted the safety zone.
The vessel involved was a CMA CGM containership. Images from the scene indicated that it may have been MV APL Dublin, although the Coast Guard had not formally confirmed the vessel’s identity.
The cause of the container loss has not been disclosed. The Coast Guard, Los Angeles City Fire and Los Angeles Port Police took part in the response.
The incident occurred almost a year after 95 containers fell from MV Mississippi at the neighbouring Port of Long Beach in September 2025. That casualty required an extended salvage operation involving divers, sonar and remotely operated vehicles.
