The number of shipping containers lost at sea more than doubled in 2025, driven by some major maritime accidents and severe weather, according to the World Shipping Council, which released its 2026 Containers Lost at Sea Report Thursday.
An estimated 1,478 containers were lost at sea last year, up from 576 in 2024 and above the recent three-year average. Despite the increase, container losses remain rare, according to WSC: The nearly 1,500 lost were out of approximately 280 million containers transported globally last year, which is equivalent to 0.0005% of container movement around the world.
One vessel loss alone accounted 43% of all containers lost during the year: The Liberia-flagged MSC ELSA 3 sank off the cost of Kochi, India, in May 2025, losing 640 containers.
Challenging weather and ocean conditions, particularly in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, were key contributors to container losses as well, according to the report.
WSC also reported that 128 containers were recovered in 2025—the highest recovery figure recorded since the organization began gathering recovery data in 2023.
The report, which is available for download, also highlights ongoing work to improve container and cargo safety.
