Countryman & McDaniel -  The Logistics - Customs Broker Attorneys

International Trade Consultants

"Overlooking Runway 25 - Right, at Los Angeles International Airport"

 

"Boxing Up The Rhine"

M/V Excelsior

Rhine River Rodeo

On The Scene In The Rhine River

Feature Date: April 7 2007

Event Date: March 25 2006

Countryman & McDaniel

 The Air & Ocean Logistics- Customs Broker Attorneys

International Trade Consultants

"Overlooking Runway 25 - Right, at Los Angeles International Airport"

On The Scene --On The Rhine River!

 A 2007 Countryman & McDaniel

Cargo Nightmare Prize Contender

Index To Our General Services

Contact Countryman & McDaniel

Legal Services of The Firm

Our Staff Attorneys & Law Firm Profile

The Cargo Law Network - Correspondent Lawyers In The U.S. & Most Major Trading Nations

Library & Search Engine of The Cargo Letter

Search Engine For This Internet Portal - Find Everything You Need

Transport Reference Desk - Virtual Transport Library

24 Hour Int'l Vessel Casualties & Pirates Database

The Photo Gallery of Cargo Loss - Photos & Lessons Learned

Transport Law Navigator - all air, ocean, motor & customs laws

Library & Search Engine of The Cargo Letter

Mega Portal of Trade & Transport References And Services

General Reference Desk - virtual public library

Terms & Conditions Required For Use of This Web Site

TRANS CAMS © - over 600 Transport Cams, 40 Satellites, Streaming Video, Transport Sounds, Short Wave Radio & Air Traffic Control! CLICK HERE


Search Our Portal To Int'l Trade & Transport Site Features,

Use The Search Engine Here:

   Search The Cargo Law Site or The Entire World Wide Web        powered by FreeFind
 

  Site Search Web Search


Other Great Disasters of our Time

The Cargo Letter Photo Gallery of Transport Loss

"Den Den Done" - M/V Denden - Sept. 2007

"Pepito Flores Did Not Need To Die " - OUR INVESTIGATION RESULTS

"Stack Attack!" - M/V Ital Florida - July 2007

"Riding Down The Marquis" - M/V Rickmars Dalian - June2007

"Carrying Coal To Newcastle" - M/V Pasha Bulker - June 2007

"Between A Yacht & A Hard Place" M/V Madame Butterfly - May 2007

"Boxing Up The Rhine" M/V Excelsior - April 2007

"Crack'n On The Sidmouth" - M/V MSC Napoli - Jan. 2007 - Disaster In Real Time

"Operation Jumbo Drop" - M/V Jumbo Challenger - March 2007

"Best Worst Laid Plans?" M/V Republica di Genoa - March 2007

"Operation Jumbo Drop" - M/V Jumbo Challenger - March 2007

"Wrong Way Agulhas?" - M/V Safmarine Agulhas - Jan. 2007

"Full Speed Ahead" - M/V Alva Star - Nov. 2006

"Where The Trade Winds Blew" - Oct. 2006

"Full Speed Ahead!" - M/V Alva Star - Nov. 2006

"Maersk Montevideo Melee!" - M/V Leda Maersk - Oct. 2006

"Laying Down On The Job" - M/V Cougar Ace -- Aug. 2006 -- Amazing !

"Vine Ripened Tires" - M/V Saga Spray -- May 2006 -- Amazing !

"Mis-Fortune" - M/V Hyundai Fortune - March 2006

"Scheldt Snafu!" - M/V Grande Nigeria - Feb. 2006

"A Day A The Beach - M/V APL Panama - Jan. 2006

"NO Rails" - destruction of New Orleans - Dec. 2005

"Backhaul !" - for July 2005

"The Boeing Tri-Motor" - for April 2005

"Catch of The Day" - for March 2005

"One Brick Short of A Runway" - for Jan. 2005

M/T Vicuna Explodes - for Jan. 2005

"Unstacked" - overboard & Dr. Beach - Nov. 2004

"Coal Face" - the cargo was danger - July 2004

"Super Loss" - March 2004

"On A Wing & A Prayer" - Jan. 2004

"Stepping In It" - Dec. 2003

"Angel Fire" - Nov. 2003

"Singles Only" -- Our One Photo Disasters

"Broken Spirit" - M/V Tasman Spirit - Aug. 2003

"Denise & Polargo" - a love story - July 2003

"Columbia River Round Up" - June 2003

"Keel Hualed" - M/V Hual Europe - May 2003

"Thrice Bitten" -- M/V Tricolor - Jan. 2003

"Ramp-Age" - Feb. 2003

"Piñata" - breaking the box - Jan. 2003

"Halifax Hash"--M/V Maersk Carolina - Jan. 2003

"Thar She Blows!" - M/V Hanjin Pennsylvania - Nov. 2002

"T-E-U Bar-Be-Cue" - aftermath of the Pennsylvania

"Container Pool" - a mystery - May 2002

"Strangers On My Flight" -- by Frank Sinatra - don't blame us - we only report this stuff!

"Dropping In On The Trucker" - it happened again - April 2002

"UNDER Achiever" - tell your friends ! - March 2002

Tell It To The U.S. Marines! - A Symbol of Our Day of Infamy - Sept. 11

Heavy Metal - lifting the un-liftable object - Disaster at Monrovia July 2001

Rail Mate -- an Egyptian rail loss - Tragedy At Ain Sokhna July 2001

Meals: Ready To Explode - Navy container barbecue at Guam! June 2001

America West Kisses Concrete M/V Ville De Orion - stack shift at LAX

U.S. Navy EP- 3 -- China Hostage Situation - Spring 2001

Attack On USS Cole (DDG-67) - - Dramatic Photos!

M/V OOCL America - Feb. 2000

M/V APL China - world's greatest container disaster - Nov. 1998

M/V New Carissa - the ship that would not die - 1999

M/V Tampa Maersk "on a dock diet"

Hanjin's Bad Stab - Under The Dock At Pusan, Korea - Exclusive Photo!

The Cargo Letter Photo Gallery of Transport Loss

 

"Boxing Up The Rhine"

M/V Excelsior

Rhine River Rodeo

On The Scene

On The Rhine River

A Cargo Nightmare Prize Contender

The Date: March 25 2007

The Time: Morning

The Place: On The Rhine River

 

Inland Container M/V Excelsior In Better Days

EX-M/V Jean Bossler

Vessel Name - Excelsior

EX-Jean Bossle

Type of Vessel - Inland Container (NONTANK)

Built: 1986

Flag - German

Overall Length - 105.1 meters

Width - 11 meters

Draft: 3.4 meters

Gross ITC Tonnage -2,878 tons

Euro # No. - 4607680

The Prolog To Disaster -- Operations Along The Rhine River
 

PROLOG >> The Rhine River is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe at 1,320km (820 miles), with an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second. The name of the Rhine comes from the from the archaic German Rhine, which in turn comes from Middle High German: Rin, ultimately from the Greek Rhein, literally "that which flows" (compare to Late Latin rhoe:"flow", rhoos: "a stream, a flowing"), from the Proto-Indo-European root "reie"- ("to flow, run").

The Rhine River and the Danube River formed most of the northern frontier of the Roman Empire, and since those days the Rhine has been a vital navigable waterway, carrying trade & goods deep inland. It has also served as a defensive feature, and been the basis for regional and international borders. The many castles and prehistoric fortifications along the Rhine testify to its importance as a waterway. River traffic could be stopped at these locations, usually for the purpose of collecting tolls, by the state controlling that portion of the river.

At over 1,000Km in length, the Rhine is the longest river primarily within Germany. It is here that the Rhine encounters some of its main tributaries, such as the Neckar, the Main and later the Moselle, which contributes an average discharge of over 300 cubic meters per second.

Between Bingen& Bonn, the Middle Rhine flows through the Rhine Gorge, a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same rate as an uplift in the region, leaving the river at about its original level, and the surrounding lands raised. This gorge is quite deep, and is the stretch of the river known for its many castles and vineyards. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2002) and known as "the romantic Rhine" with more than 40 castles & fortresses from the Middle Ages (see links) and many lovely wine villages.

Though many industries can be found along the Rhine up into Switzerland, it is along the Lower Rhine in the Ruhr area that the bulk of them are concentrated, as the river passes the major cities of Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Duisburg. The Ruhr, which joins the Rhine at Duisburg, is surprisingly clean, given the amount of industry on its banks, and is used for drinking water. It adds another 70 cubic meters per second to the Rhine. However, other rivers from the Ruhr area, above all the Emscher, still bring a considerable degree of pollution. Approaching the Dutch border, the Rhine now has an average discharge of 2,290 cubic metres per second and an average width of more than 300 metres.

Today the Rhine is the German Super Cargo Highway -- the cargo equivivalnt of several U.S. Interstate Highways -- as river movement is the clear choice over rail or road transport.

On March 25 2007, a seemingly minor event caught the attention of all Europe.

Some 400 ships were stuck on the Rhine River.

Waterborne commerce in Europe was at a halt.

Michael S. McDaniel - Your Editor
 

inland container M/V Excelsior Takes On Containers At Mannheim, Germany

March 25 2007 Was Not Going To Be A Great Day.

M/V Excelsior Moves Along The Rhine ...... In The Mrning Calm

But Something Is Amiss.

Called The Most Serious Rhine Accident of The Last 25 Years

From The Cargo Letter - March 26 2007 -- Container Vessel In Jeopardy
MAJOR ACCIDENT>> The most serious Rhine accident of the last 25 years >> inland container M/V Excelsior -- lost containers on Mar 25 at Koeln in the Rhine River in Cologne -- Capt. tried to make a turn. Somehow it must have created a wave, knocking containers over board. Reportedly one container had to be "rescued" by the fire department with a crane out of the canalization system. Reportedly 100 ships, scheduled to sail river Rhine are stuck and at anchorage. The river is closed at Cologne. Containers spread over a length of 20km reaching the city of Cologne. Cause of the loss is still unclear. The ship carried 2,630 tons cargo in 103 containers which was no overload. In the afternoon of Mar 26 the last 6 containers could be traced which were still missing,. The salvage work first concentrated on the 3 containers loaded with dangerous goods. One which carried 22 tons fuel addition was first righted & then pumped out by fire fighters. Thereby a small amount leaked into the Rhine through a leakage. The other 2 will be raised next. The salvage of the other 28 containers is to commence on Mar 27 by two contracted salvage companies. 14 containers have sunk in the traffic lane, 17 others close to the shore. In the morning hours of Mar 27 three special equipped ships are expected on scene for the salvage. The river closure could last up to Mar 29. There is hope for at least a partial re-opening before this date. Police forces supported by helicopters found 17 containers which were salvaged., but 14 are presumed to be sunk. They have to be traced with sonar & then raised with a sheerleg. From Correspondent Hildegard E. Krause of Roanoke Trade Insurance. (Mon. March 26 2007
From The Cargo Letter - March 28 2007 -- Container Vessel In Jeopardy
The Rhine River, Europe's most busy waterway, will remain completely blocked for traffic at least until March 29, after M/V Excelsior lost 31 containers. No diversion is possible for about 200 ships arriving per day, which have to anchor at the Rhine banks. The financial loss for the masters, many of which own their inland freighters, is way up in the millions. Salvage of the 31 lost containers is made difficult by lack of equipment, there are not enough cranes & diver ships to work on more than 1 or maybe 2 sunk containers at a time. As officialls stated, a crack in the hull of chartered M/V Excelsior opend during a turn maneuver, being responsible for the list & loss of the containers. From Correspondent Stephan Edel. (Wed. March 28 2007) Stephan Edel

Some Of These With Hazardous Material

From The Cargo Letter - March 30 2007 -- Container Vessel In Jeopardy
UPDATE>> Salvage of the 31 containers which were lost by M/V Excelsior on the Rhine proceeded on Mar 27. In the foremidday hours the sheerleg Grizzly and the diver support ship M/V Carl Straat, homeport Duisburg, arrived as well as a crane which started work at Porz-Ensen where several containers ran aground or sank. 17 containers were secured by fire brigade, 14 have sunk in the traffic lane -- On the whole 6 containers were salvaged until the morning of Mar 28. Some 400 ships are stuck on the Rhine. Waterborne commerce in Europe is at a halt. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen. (Wed. March 28 2007 PM) UPDATE>> The 3rd of the containers with dangerous goods which was salvaged on the Rhine was so severely damaged that the acid inside partially leaked out. The fire brigade put the container onto a special ship which took it into the harbor of Niehl. 5 of the 32 containers of M/V Excelsior still sunk in the Rhine. Three are actually being salvaged. From the midday hours on 4 special equipped ships will search the Rhine in V-formation in order to trace the last missings containers. Authorities hoped to re-open the Rhine Mar 30. In the midday hours the special ships again searched the traffic lane for the missing 3 containers. Divers meanwhile went down to an object close to the Deutz bridge in order to find out whether its one of the missing 3 containers. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen & Correspondent Hildegard E. Krause. (Fri. March 30 2007)
From The Cargo Letter - March 30 2007 -- Container Vessel In Jeopardy
UPDATE>> The Most Serious EU Accident in 25 Years Continues -- M/V Excelsior -- as with sunrise on Mar 29 the salvage works on the Rhine were continued. On the whole 16 of 32 containers have been recovered, among them all 3 which contained dangerous goods -- these 3 containers presumably directly beneath M/V Excelsior -- while 4 ships are searching for actual container positions since the morning. -- sunken containers change positions due to the current. When the 3rd container with dangerous goods was raised that it lost most of the acid carried in barels - container was in danger of breaking in two so that the barrels might have fallen into the river. When it was finally secured, discovered that most barrels had leaked out. After salvage of the 2nd container with dangerous goods on Mar 28 the 68 barrels it contained were transported to a HAZMAT firm. The other one had been salvaged without problems close to the South bridge in Koeln. A 4th salvage ship from Mannheim is to support the works from Mar 29 on. On this day also the remaining cargo on board M/V Excelsior was to be secured and the ship subsequently proceed to the harbor of Niehl where the remaining containers are to be unloaded. Meanwhile 500 ships are waiting for passage on the Rhine -- the EU lifeline. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen & Correspondent Hildegard E. Krause (Fri. March 30 2007)  

From The Cargo Letter - March 31 2007 -- Rhine River Reopens

UPDATE>>> Although 4 containers still missing, the Rhine was reopened for shipping on Mar 30 at 8.30 p.m. Last restrictions were cancelled on Mar 31 at 7 a.m. as traffic was intense but without problems. The search for 4 containers which are still missing continued the whole day without results. It was speculated whether they sank into sand bars or even if they really exist or perhaps the manifest was wrong. M/V Excelsior still lying at anchor. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Sat. March 31 2007)

From The Cargo Letter - April 2 2007 -- Police Boat Collides With Sunken Container

UPDATE>> April 1 another container of M/V Excelsior was traced by witnesses in the Rhine. They saw a dark shadow in the water close to the Severins Brisdge in Koeln. A police boat which surveyed the place & then collided with the container which lay 1mt. beneath the surface of the water. On Apr 2 the two sheerlegs "Kraanvogel" & "Grizzly" raised the container at 02.50 a.m. with the help of divers. Shipping was not influenced by the works, but the harbour Koeln-Deutz closed during the salvage. The container shall be opened after sunrise. 3 of 4 still missing containers contain wood products. The search for the 3 missing containers is to be continued. Possibly they have broken up on the river bottom. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Mon. April 2 2007)  
From The Cargo Letter - April 3 2007 -- Manifest Error Led To Problem?
it seems possible that the M/V Excelsior may already have been unstable after loading at the terminal of the Mannheim Rhein harborr. A spokesman of the Mannheimer Hafengesellschaft (HGM) said that there is no exact knowledge about the process of loading as this was arranged between the private terminal owner and the Capt. M/V Excelsior is actually expected back in Mannheim where it will possibly berth already today, Apr 3. The instability is regarded as cause of the list, maybe together with overloading. The containers were much heavier than represented on the manifest. All salvaged & remaining containers will be weighed, said a police spokesman in Duisburg. The entire cargo is held as evidence under police control now. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Tues. April 3 2007)  
From The Cargo Letter - April 4 2007 -- Manifest Error Led To Problem?
According to the manifest it seems sure now that indeed 32 containers of the M/V Excelsior plunged overside into the Rhine. Three of them, 2 loaded with timber & 1 with metal products, are still missing. The search continues with a reduced fleet of 3 vessel.

Investigations continue regarding the cause of the accident. Possibly the containers were much more heavy than proved by the manifest. Additionally the ship could have been overloaded. It has to be found out whether a breach which was found in the foreship already in Sept. 2006 was responsible for the list. This breach lead to the water ingress. The Capt. as well as the 2nd officer are actually blamed by the police regarding threat of shipping forbidden dangerous goods and pollution of water. The 2 other crew members meanwhile were also questioned by the police. Environmental damage is minimal. Only little amounts of acid leaked out and not, as first was feared, up to 15 tons. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Wed. April 4 2007)  

  Rhine River Rodeo Roundup - Lawn Chair Edition

Circling The Wagons!

In The Old West The Conestoga Wagon Was The "Container" Moving Transport Goods

Now The Rhine River Rodeo Riders Circle These "Container Wagons" Afloat!

  Yee Ha!

Get Along, Little Boxes!

Container Hunting On The Rhine

From The Cargo Letter - April 5 2007 -- 2nd of 3 Missing Containers Is Located
In the morning hours of Apr 5 M/V Excelsior was being unloaded in the harbour of Mannheim. Insurance- and shipping experts were on scene to check the containers, among them still one with dangerous goods. Today,10 days after the mishap a survey ship traced 1 of the 3 still missing containers on the left Rhine side close to the Rheinau harbor in Koeln. At once the container was secured by a salvage ship. Shipping had not to be restricted. The search will continue to be complicated as the remaining containers are somewhere off the shipping lane. When in 1982 about 63 containers were lost in the Rhine at Unkel, some were found only years later. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Thurs. April 5 2007)  

The Wagon Train Has Spread Out

To Box Up The Rhine

From The Cargo Letter - April 6 2007 -- 2nd of 3 Missing Containers Is Located
M/V Excelsior is to be slipped up in Speyer on Apr 10 under the attendance of several shipping experts & investigators. Already while still berthed at the quay of the Braun yard the engine is to be inspected. The ship will be lifted ashore. How long repairs will take is not yet clear. Meanwhile the search for the containers will go on also during the Easter holidays with one ship. Only on Apr 6, 8 & 9 there is a break. The last traced container was salvaged on Apr 5. It was severly damaged & empty. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Fri. April 6 2007)  

A Better Blockade Could Not Have Been Designed

From The Cargo Letter - April 7 2007 -- A Life Is Lost
The search for the 2 missing containers of M/V Excelsior between Koeln-Zuendorf and Leverkusen brought no results on Apr 7. The search by one vessel was stopped in the evening. Meanwhile the Rhine shipping had to be stopped again after a 15meter long working boat sank on Apr 7 at 8.30 a.m. at Ginsheim-Gustavsburg close to Mainz. A passenger vessel rescued one crew, the 2nd was missing. Rescue forces searched with divers for the missing man, but hope to find him alive faded in the afternoon. The ship is lying upside down in a depth of 6meter. The ship came from Nierstein and was underway to Mainz. The cause of the capsizing is unclear. The search for the missing man was to be continued on Easter Sunday, Apr 8. The ship should be raised with a crane. It partially blocked the shipping lane, but in the afternoon of Apr 7 the Rhine shipping could be resumed in one-way-traffic. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Sat. April 7 2007)  

From The Cargo Letter - April 10 2007 -- Vessel Inspection

Monrning of Apr 10 M/V Excelsior -- pulled on the slipway of Jos. Braun Yard in Speyer. First surveys showed no major damage. The repairs are to be completed until Apr 11, and presumably April 12 the ship will be back into the Rhine water. At Koeln, 2 ships continue searching for the sill missing 2 containers of its cargo after a break of 2 days for the Easter Holiday. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Tues. April 10 2007)  

From The Cargo Letter - April 23 2007 -- Vessel Repair & Refloat

After completition of repairs, a fresh paint and investigations M/V Excelsior left the yard in Speyer and was passing Mainz on the Rhine on Aprril 22. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Mon. April 23 2007)  

April 27 2007 -- The Last Container Is Recovered

From The Cargo Letter - April 27 2007 -- Last Containers Located & Raised -- Cause of Loss Determined -- Last Chapter

The last two missing containers of the M/V Excelsior were found. In the morning of Apr 25. The Capt. of the German passenger M/V Wappen von Köln sighted one of the containers in Koeln at the Deutzer bridge due to the low Rhine tide. The sheerleg Kraanvogel came from Düsseldorf and raised the container in the evening. But the wood it had contained had gone.

The last container was sighted by chance under a bridge of the berth of the Koeln-Duesseldorf Line at the marina Zuendorf, Koeln-Porz, in the morning of Apr 26. It was raised on Apr 27. A sheerleg lifted the box which still contained its cargo of machine parts out of the Rhine at Köln-Porz and took it to the harbour Köln-Niehl.

The prosecutors are thus far sure that the weight of the containers was much higher than it should have been and casued the instability of M/V Excelsior and according the list which led to the loss of the cargo on March 25. This was determined by weighing the raised containers. The Capt. and a 2nd office are accused. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Fri. April 27 2007)  

M/V Excelsior Truly Boxed Up The Rhine!

Some 400 ships were stuck on the Rhine. Waterborne commerce in Europe Was at a halt.

Editor Note:
Having sailed the Rhine River and the entire length of the Danube River to the Black Sea ... I can tell you there is no more precious resource nor more diverse cultural & historical display than these water Super Highways through the entire breadth of Europe. Stopping up one of these water courses is the cargo equivalent of closing The Dan Ryan Expresway in Chicago and The San Diego Freeway in Los Angeles -- all at once. Commerce comes to a halt.
McD

Shippers Must Have Quality Marine Cargo Insurance ........ Because......... "Ship Happens! ©"

If We Have Ever Provided A Cautionary Tale In Support of Cargo Insurance -- This Is It!

To Repeat -- No Matter How Careful You Are -- Or Who You Hire ....... "Ship Happens! ©"

 

"Ship Happens! ©"


The Dedication of This Feature Is Simple: To The Crew of M/V Excelsior and her families.


SPECIAL NOTE: The historic dangers of carriage by sea continue to be quite real. Shippers must be encouraged to purchase high quality marine cargo insurance from their freight forwarder or customs brokerIt's dangerous out there.


INDEX TO OUR "Boxing Up The Rhine" PAGE SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Rhine River
The Rhine River

Rhine River Castles

Castles Along The Rhine

Rhine River Notebook

Rhine River Photos


Our Daily Vessel Casualties - stay informed

Other Ocean Related Features From The Cargo Letter- these are just examples

The Cargo Letter Photo Gallery of Transport Loss - For All The Air & Ocean Features - a few examples below

"Best Worst Laid Plans?" M/V Republica di Genoa - March 2007

"Crack'n On The Sidmouth" - M/V MSC Napoli - Jan. 2007 - Disaster In Real Time

"Operation Jumbo Drop" - M/V Jumbo Challenger - March 2007

"Wrong Way Agulhas?" - M/V Safmarine Agulhas - Jan. 2007

"Full Speed Ahead" - M/V Alva Star - Nov. 2006

"Where The Trade Winds Blew" - Oct. 2006

"Maersk Montevideo Melee!" - M/V Leda Maersk - Oct. 2006

"Laying Down On The Job" - M/V Cargo Ace - Aug. 2006 The Marty Johnson Project Continues

"A Day A The Beach - M/V APL Panama - Jan. 2006

"Great Misfortune"- M/V Hyundai Fortune - March 2006

"Unstacked - Overboard With Dr. Beach" - Oct. 2004

"Columbia River Round Up" - June 2003

"Halifax Hash"--M/V Maersk Carolina - Jan. 2003

"Piñata" - breaking the box - Jan. 2003

"T-E-U Bar-Be-Cue" - aftermath of the M/V Pennsylvania Loss - Nov. 2002

"Container Pool" - a mystery - May 2002

"Dropping In On The Trucker" -happened again - April 2002

"Meals: Ready To Explode" - Navy Barbecue at Guam June 2001

"M/V Ville D' Orion" - Bad L.A. Stack Disaster! April 2001 -- UPDATED - May 2002

"Pier Review" - Sept. 2001

"Singles Only" - visit our individual moments of transport crisis for more.

The Greatest Container Losses Of All Time - these are the grand fathers -

M/V OOCL America

M/V APL China


SPECIAL NOTE: The historic dangers of carriage by sea continue to be quite real. Shippers must be encouraged to purchase high quality marine cargo insurance from their freight forwarder or customs broker. 

It's very dangerous out there.

Thanks To Our Contributors For The"Boxing Up The Rhine" Feature

Our Contributors for this feature are:
Anonymous photo contributors who wish to be anonymous*

Hilde Krause - Roanoke Trade Insurance., San Francisco

Tim Schwabedissen - our Sr. Cargo Law Correspondent

Christoph Wahner. Esq. - our Cargo Law Correspondent

The Cargo Letter appreciates the continuing efforts of these valued contributors. Thanks Pals!


NOTE: Please Provide Us With Your Additional Information For This Loss.

EDITOR'S NOTE FOR SURVEYORS, ATTORNEYS & MARINE ADJUSTERS: The Internet edition effort of The Cargo Letter now celebrates it's 8th Year of Service -- making us quite senior in this segment of the industry. We once estimated container underway losses at about 1,500 per year. Lloyd's put that figure at about 10,000 earlier this year. Quite obviously, the reporting mechanism for these massive losses is not supported by the lines. News of these events is not posted to the maritime community. Our new project is to call upon you -- those handling the claims -- to let us know of each container loss at sea-- in confidentiality. Many of you survey on behalf of cargo interests with no need for confidentiality. Others work for the lines & need to be protected. As a respected Int'l publication, The Cargo Letter enjoys full press privileges & cannot be forced to disclose our sources of information. No successful attempt has ever been made. If a personal notation for your report is desired -- each contributor will be given a "hot link" to your company Website in each & every report. Please take moment & report your "overside" containers to us. If you do not wish attribution, your entry will be "anonymous." This will will benefit our industry -- for obvious reasons! McD


* NOTE: The Cargo Letter wants you to know that by keeping the identity of our contributors 100% Confidential, you are able to view our continuing series of "Cargo Disasters." Our friends send us materials which benefit the industry. The materials are provided to our news publication with complete and enforceable confidentiality for the sender. In turn, we provide these materials to you.  

The Manifest

| Cargo law Main Page | The Freight Detective | Law Navigator | Claims Calculator |

| The Freight Detective General Investigations | The Freight Detective Transport Investigations |

| The Logistics Chain | Photo Gallery of Cargo Loss | Our Staff |

| Trans-Cams | Forwarder/Broker Industry Chat & Issue Discussion Board |

| Library & Search Engine of The Cargo Letter | Bookstore |

 

 Back To Main Page


 

The Law Offices of Countryman & McDaniel

Eleventh Floor LAX Airport Center

5933 West Century Boulevard

Los Angeles, California, 90045

(310) 342-6500 Voice

(310) 342-6505 Fax

 

to The Law Offices of Countryman & McDaniel

 

to The Cargo Letter