As of 1 January 2026, amendments to SOLAS Chapter V (Safety of Navigation) require the master of any ship to report the loss of containers at sea as well as any sightings of drifting containers, irrespective of whether the containers have been lost from their own vessel or not.
The report should include the ship’s identity, the position of the lost or drifting containers, the date and time, and, to the extent known, the number of containers lost or drifting, their descriptions (size and type), and whether any dangerous goods are involved (with UN numbers).Under Regulation 31 of SOLAS Chapter V, the master of a ship involved in the loss of freight containers is required to promptly report the incident to:
- Other ships in the vicinity;
- The nearest coastal State; and
- The flag State.
If a ship is not involved in a loss incident but observes freight container(s) adrift at sea, the master of the ship shall communicate the particulars of such an observation by appropriate means without delay and to the fullest extent possible to other ships in the vicinity and the nearest coastal State. In the event of the ship being abandoned or the master being unable to report, the shipowner (or company, as defined in SOLAS regulation IX/1.2) is obliged to assume the reporting obligations. The reporting template and links to interim reporting forms can be found in IMO circular CCC.1/Circ.7 (or equivalent guidance).
The reporting template and links to interim reporting forms can be found here.
