

Salvage crews recovering containers that fell into the water at the Port of Long Beach. Photo: U.S. Coast Guard
Crews at the Port of Long Beach say that they have made significant progress in clean-up efforts after nearly 70 containers fell off of a cargo ship on September 9.
According to a September 14 release from the port, 32 containers have now been recovered from the water around the MV Mississippi cargo vessel. Crews have also found no signs of pollution since an initial leak from an emissions barge on September 10. A 500-yard safety zone remains in place around the Mississippi, although cargo operations at the Port of Long Beach have been "largely unaffected."
An estimated 67 containers toppled off the Mississippi at Pier G just before 9 a.m. on September 9, the majority of which were carrying electronics, clothing, furniture and shoes. The containers fell onto a smaller clean air barge — a specialized vessel that captures and filters harmful emissions from docked cargo ships – that was connected to the Mississippi at the time of the incident.
It's unclear how long it will take to recover all the containers that fell into the water. As of midday September 14, U.S. Coast Guard dive teams and salvage crews were still on the scene working to remove the fallen containers, and had finished lashing all unaffected cargo into place aboard the Mississippi.
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