MAERSK Essen has arrived Lazaro Cardenas and is scheduled to berth at the APM terminal there on Saturday 30 January.

Maersk Line said it plans to inspect the vessel once it has berthed, and then determine options.

Drone footage seen by DCN reveals extensive damage to at least six container stacks in the middle of the ship. Containers are seen collapsed on one another and dangling over the side of the ship.

In a statement Maersk Line said it is exploring options while Maersk Essen waits to berth.

“The amount of time to discharge the damaged containers is not clear yet – we will have clarity once the vessel arrives into port, a damage assessment is performed and port operations get underway,” Maersk said.

The company said there were three possible, but unconfirmed, scenarios for the undamaged cargo onboard.

In the first scenario, cargo would remain onboard and be discharged at Los Angeles. In the second scenario, the containers would be discharged at Lazaro Cardenas and loaded onto another vessel bound for Los Angeles. And, in the third scenario, the containers would be unloaded and routed via rail to Los Angeles. Alternatively, the company said customers could leave their cargo within their Mexico supply chains.