WSC: Nearly 1,500 containers lost at sea during 2025

From Safety4Sea

The World Shipping Council (WSC) has published its Containers Lost at Sea report, finding that container loss rose significantly last year.

In 2025, an estimated 1,478 containers were lost at sea out of approximately 280 million transported, equivalent to 0.0005 percent of global container movements.

While this represents an increase from 576 containers lost in 2024 and is above the recent three-year average, it remains within the range of historical variation and continues to reflect a very small proportion of overall containerized trade.

A notable feature of 2025 was the concentration of losses in a small number of incidents.

One major incident alone accounted for 640 containers lost, or approximately 43 percent of the annual total. This underscores the continued influence of isolated, large-scale events in shaping yearly outcomes.

Encouragingly, 128 containers were reported as recovered, reflecting improved response coordination and collaboration following incidents.

The long-term trend continues to show that container losses remain a very small fraction of total global container movements.

While year-to-year figures fluctuate, often driven by extreme weather and isolated events, the overall trajectory remains stable and significantly below earlier peak years.

World Shipping Council remains committed to transparency, data-driven safety improvements, and collaborative action across the supply chain.

The introduction of mandatory IMO reporting requirements from 2026 marks a major step forward in enhancing global data accuracy and supporting further safety improvements.

Key findings and results

• 1,478 containers lost at sea in 2025, out of over 280 million transported (0.0005%)
• 128 containers recovered, the highest recovery figure recorded to date
• Losses driven by one major incident (640 containers)
• Extreme weather events and fire remain leading causes of container loss
• Key drivers of 2025 losses

Impact of major incidents

The 2025 data again demonstrates that annual totals are heavily influenced by isolated high-impact events:A single vessel loss incident accounted for 43% of containers overboard (640 containers), significantly increasing the annual total.
A handful of additional incidents involving severe weather, stack collapse, or cargo shift contributed notable losses that drove up the annual total.

This pattern is consistent with previous years where major incidents, rather than widespread systemic issues, drive annual fluctuations.

Weather and ocean conditions

Weather remains a key factor in container loss incidents, and 2025 saw challenging conditions across several major shipping routes.

While the total number of storms globally was not significantly higher than average, the year was marked by:Warmer-than-normal ocean temperatures, which can intensify storms and increase wave energy.
Periods of more severe and less predictable weather, particularly in the North Atlantic and North Pacific.
Regional conditions that created difficult operating environments, including strong winter storms and unusual ocean patterns.

These factors increased the likelihood of incidents when vessels encountered heavy weather, even if overall storm numbers were not elevated.

Operational and incident-specific factors

In addition to weather, several operational factors contributed to losses, including:

• Fire-related incidents
• Cargo shift and stack collapse in rough seas
• Individual vessel incidents, including groundings and total losses

As in previous years, container losses typically result from a combination of factors, with challenging weather conditions often acting as the trigger.

Credit: WSC
Container loss trend

The number of containers lost at sea continues to fluctuate year-to-year, reflecting the impact of isolated large-scale incidents.

The increase in 2025 reverses the sharp decline observed in 2022–2024 but remains consistent with historical variability driven by major incidents.

The full dataset since WSC started its surveys show:

The highest recorded loss remains 2013, with 5,578 containers
The lowest recorded loss was in 2023, with 221 containers

Every container loss incident presents a risk to the environment, seafarers, shippers’ cargo and to the ship, and we will continue to work systematically to prevent them.

Nevertheless, despite periodic spikes, the overall trend continues to demonstrate that container losses are rare relative to the scale of global trade.

Recovery trends

For the third consecutive year, we are also gathering data on the recovery of containers.

In 2025, 128 containers were recovered, compared to minimal recoveries in previous years.

This increase suggests improved tracking and response capabilities, as well as enhanced coordination and collaboration between ocean carriers and coastal authorities.

Regulatory shift

To remind, the Maritime Safety Committee, at its 108th session, adopted amendments to SOLAS Chapter V (Resolution MSC.550(108)), introducing a requirement to report freight containers lost at sea or observed drifting. 

In parallel, the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), at its 81st session, adopted amendments to Article V of Protocol I of MARPOL (Resolution MEPC.384(81)), establishing reporting procedures for lost containers aligned with SOLAS regulations V/31 and V/32.  

These amendments entered into force on 1 January 2026.

West Antarctica is missing way too much ice

Photograph : Sebnem Coskun/Getty images

From Wired by Graham Readfearn

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Temperatures have climbed up to 45 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, stopping ice from forming in the dead of Antarctic winter.

ANTARCTICA’S WEST COAST is missing an area of winter sea ice the size of France, sparking concerns for threatened penguins other marine life and global sea levels.

The Bellingshausen Sea is off the coast of West Antarctica. (NASA)

 

One expert said the loss of ice in the Bellingshausen Sea was “depressing” and the failure of ice to form could have intensified a heatwave over the continent’s peninsular last week that saw daytime temperatures peak at 15.4 degrees Celsius which is more than 20 degrees Celsius above average.

It’s winter in Antarctica, when sea ice expands rapidly around the continent peaking in September.

But satellite observations showed the Bellingshausen Sea—on the west side of the Antarctic peninsular and which by June would usually be covered by ice—was almost completely ice free.

Scientists said the region was missing about 650,000 square kilometers (250,000 square miles) of sea ice, compared with the average between 1991 and 2020.
That is an area about the size of France and almost tenfold the size of Tasmania.

“I’m concerned. It’s depressing,” said Dr Will Hobbs, an Antarctic sea ice expert at the University of Tasmania with the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership.

“It is remarkable that we are in June, and there is no sea ice there.”

He said this was the third time in four years that sea ice had been very low in the region.
“I don’t think we will see sea ice there any more.
It’s done,” he said.

He said the loss of sea ice was likely linked to changes in the ocean and scientists were trying to understand if global heating was a factor.

He said the region was important for krill—a critical part of the food web for species in the region.
Krill would usually be hiding from predators under the ice in winter, where they graze on algae.

On June 10 there was about 11.4 m square kilometers of sea ice around the entire continent compared to a long-term average for that date of 12.6 m square km.

Dr. Phil Reid, who monitors Antarctic conditions at Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, said the Bellingshausen Sea had seen “incredible coastal exposure” in winter and summer in recent years.

He said just to the area’s west were the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers—the continent’s major contributors to ice loss and sea level rise.

Floating ice shelves in front of the glaciers could break up faster if protective sea ice is absent for longer periods, he said, and this could then speed up the loss of ice from the glaciers, pushing up global sea levels in the future.

The Bellingshausen Sea’s coastline was the site of tragedy in late 2022 when thousands of emperor penguin chicks died during a “catastrophic breeding failure” in four colonies.

View image in fullscreen-Satellite observations show a large area of sea ice in west Antarctica over the Bellingshausen Sea has failed to appear this winter. 

Deep red indicates at least a 50% loss in sea ice compared with the 1991 to 2020 average. 

Illustration: Phil Reid/Bureau of Meteorology/National Snow and Ice Data Center

 

That event contributed to UN advisers pushing the species up two categories to “endangered” on its international threatened species list earlier this year.

Dr. Peter Fretwell, a scientist at the British Antarctic Survey who has been documenting the penguin’s decline, said the current loss of sea ice in the region was “a serious problem for penguins, especially emperors.”
“Sea ice is forming too late and breaking up too early.
It leads to reduced breeding success and longer trips to molting grounds.”

Adelie penguin numbers were also falling and crabeater seals were being forced to migrate in summer to find stable ice, he said.

The extent of ice at Antarctica, as of June 11, 2026. (Supplied: NSIDC)

 

This month the Antarctic peninsular witnessed an extreme temperature spike over several days.
Hobbs said while “nobody has done the numbers” it was reasonable to suggest the heat wave was “made worse by the lack of sea ice.”

Sea ice would usually help to cool any warmer airflow entering the region from the north, he said.

Officials at Argentina’s national weather service, Servicio Meteorológico Nacional, said the country’s Esperanza base at the peninsular’s northeastern tip had experienced an “extreme temperature event” that peaked on June 5 and 6.

Maximum temperatures of 15.4 degrees Celsius and 13.4 degrees Celsius, respectively, were recorded at a period when average daily maximums were minus 6.2 degrees Celsius.
The previous June temperature record at the base of 13.3 degrees Celsius was set on June 12, 1998.

 

Links :

• The Guardian : Antarctica’s west coast missing an area of sea ice the size of France as temperatures peak 20C above average 
• LiveScience : Antarctica’s sudden sea ice loss is one of the most extreme and confusing events in the modern climate record. Scientists now know why it's happening. 

France & misc. (SHOM) layer update in the GeoGarage platform

 

210 nautical raster charts updated (including 10 new editions & 3 new charts)

see GeoGarage news 

Declassified satellite images (1960-1984)

🎉 To mark the release of over 700 georeferenced declassified spy satellite images, Harry has made his 1960-1984 map collection fully searchable: https://t.co/47v4qrBQ0Z

Explore anywhere in the world and jump straight to the interactive maps to compare them to modern day. pic.twitter.com/4u5YMP4epw

— Soar (@SoarAtlas) February 20, 2026

A new species of tiny octopus was discovered in the Galápagos Islands

Courtesy Charles Darwin Foundation

From Wired by Marta Musso

An octopus about the size of a golf ball was first spotted in 2015 near Darwin Island.
A new study gives it both a formal description and a name.

A TINY BLUE octopus that lives in the deep sea off the coast of the Galápagos Islands is so small that it can fit in the palm of a hand.
And as a team of researchers coordinated by Chicago's Field Museum announced in a new study just published in the journal Zootaxa, it now has an official name—Microeledone galapagensis.

The octopus was first spotted in 2015 during a deep-sea expedition aboard the research vessel E/V Nautilus.
From there, marine biologists used a remotely operated underwater vehicle (RoV) to explore the ocean floor near Darwin Island, at the northern end of the Galápagos archipelago.
As the RoV's camera moved across the seafloor near an underwater slope at a depth of 1,773 meters (5,817 feet), they noticed the tiny octopus with its vibrant blue coloring.

By performing a close inspection, the researchers were able to recover the blue octopus and film two other specimens, and then, at the end of the mission, conduct a thorough analysis.
It left them puzzled, however, as they were not certain which species it belonged to.
So they contacted Field Museum expert Janet Voight, sending her a photo of the animal.
“Right away, I knew it was something really special,” said Voight, lead author of the new study.
“I’d never seen anything like it.” However, to determine whether an animal belongs to a new species requires a complete analysis of all its body parts, and since the blue octopus was the only one of its kind ever collected, the experts did not want to dissect and thus lose such a valuable specimen.

To overcome this problem, the authors used x-ray computed tomography to create and assemble thousands of CT micro-scans, which then allowed them to create a 3D model of the blue octopus, both internally and externally.
The researchers were able to observe the most minute details, from the tentacles (squat, with few suckers) to the smooth skin (almost devoid of pigment on the back) to a specific funnel-shaped organ, thus obtaining the information needed to classify it as a new species and place it among other cephalopods.
"Because CT imaging is nondestructive, it's especially important for type specimens like this one," said coauthor Stephanie Smith.
“And that's great for me, because people are often bringing me these incredibly rare and stunningly beautiful specimens that I get the privilege of virtually opening up.”

In addition to describing the new species, the blue octopus reminds us how much we still don't know about the ocean depths, how crucial these expeditions and research are to better understand these still unexplored ecosystems, and why protecting them is so important.

“These are little octopuses that live in the deep sea, and hardly anybody on Earth has ever gotten to see them.
I just feel lucky that I got to work with them,” said Voight.
“If you took all the land on Earth and pieced it together, you would not cover the Pacific Ocean.
The oceans are so big, and there’s so much left to explore.”