Containers Drifting Offshore Confirmed, East of West Palm Beach
As first reported in this from WPBF 25 News these containers are now confirmed to be adrift east of West Palm Beach and will require a sharp lookout for vessels sailing offshore. Our thanks to Jeff Graham for this submission.
Coast Guard responds to container barge accident
At least 25 containers believed to have fallen off barge
RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. ‘”Coast Guard crews responded to reports of multiple containers falling off a barge Sunday off the coast between Port Canaveral, Florida, and West Palm Beach, Florida.
The U.S. flagged 136-foot Capt. Latham, was headed to Puerto Rico as it tugged a 340-foot barge, Columbia Elizabeth. The crew noticed several cargo containers hanging over the port side of the barge and believed more had fallen into the water while in transit.
The Capt. Latham terminated their course toward Puerto Rico and diverted to the Port of Palm Beach for further investigation.
A Coast Guard MH-65 helicopter crew from Air Station Miami and a crew from the Coast Guard Cutter Margaret Norvell responded to the report to assess the barge.
At approximately 3:00 p.m., the vessel moored safely in the Port of Palm Beach. It was then determined that up to 25 containers were unaccounted for, with an undetermined amount falling overboard. Several of the containers were confirmed to be carrying batteries.
One of the containers washed ashore in Port Canaveral.
The Coast Guard is investigating the incident and plans to launch an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft to begin searching at sunrise.
And this from WESH 2 News:
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. ‘”Thousands of coffee containers are washing up on beaches in Central Florida and South Florida, officials tell WESH 2 News.
Thousands of bright yellow cans of coffee are washing ashore in Brevard County, many people rushing to pick them up. The cans may have fallen off a passing cargo barge, WESH 2 News has learned.
Along the coast of Indialantic, bright cans of coffee that likely were on their way to Puerto Rico, are finding their way ashore.
Early in the day, the first beach visitors were stunned to find cans of coffee and bricks of coffee thickly strewn on the sand.
The United States Coast Guard reports that the containers were from the barge Columbia Elizabeth, which reported losing multiple containers between Cape Canaveral and Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday.
Marine prevention teams from Coast Guard Sector Miami and Marine Safety Detachment Lake Worth were dispatched to the Port of Palm Beach, where the barge is currently being unloaded.
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