A massive Singaporean cargo ship has lost about 40 containers, with others hanging precariously over her side, due to rough sea conditions off Australia’s east coast.
The vessel, APL England hit the seas on Sunday morning about 73km south-east of Sydney on its journey from China to Melbourne
The ship lost propulsion for a few minutes and endured heavy rolling, causing the stacks of containers to destabilise.
A number of stacks collapsed and about 40 containers fell into 2km-deep water.
Several containers hung precariously over her side.
An additional 74 containers have been damaged, while as many as six are protruding from starboard side of the ship and three over port side.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has responded by sending a jet to inspect the ship for damage.
It is not believed to have suffered an structural damage and remains seaworthy.
Any debris from the ship is likely to wash up north of Sydney, the authority believes.
The vessel lost 37 cseontainers after hitting rough seas off the Great Australian Bight in August 2016.
“While the vessel was under totally different management at that time, this is another example of the need for crew and operators to ensure cargo is carried, and ships are operated, to prevent this sort of pollution of the marine environment,” AMSA said in a statement on Sunday.
The ship has turned around toward Brisbane and was off Byron Bay in northern NSW on Monday afternoon.
Strong winds hammered waters off NSW over the weekend, forcing the closure of several beaches amid dangerous swells.
