Authorities are investigating a fatal fall that occurred on a Maersk containership while it was moored at the Port of Los Angeles.
The incident happened at about 1645 on Jan. 25 while the 1,202-foot Maersk Eindhoven was docked at Pier 400. The victim, who has not been identified, died at the scene after falling into a cargo hold, according to Maersk spokesman Tom Boyd.
“Emergency responders were notified and attempts to resuscitate the victim were unsuccessful,” Boyd said, adding that the company is “fully cooperating with the investigation.”
The victim has not been publicly identified. Maersk described him as a third-party contractor repairman but did not elaborate on his role aboard the ship.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said its responders encountered a victim who was already deceased after falling about 50 feet from the superstructure and hitting containers on the deck.
“Firefighters/paramedics initiated resuscitative measures, but sadly, the man was beyond medical help,” the fire department said on its website. “Crews determined him to be dead on scene. The details surrounding the event are currently unclear.”
The Port of Los Angeles forwarded questions on the incident to Maersk. Additional details about the incident were not available.
The 13-year-old Maersk Eindhoven is registered in Denmark. It can carry the equivalent of 13,100 20-foot shipping containers. The ship was last in the news in March 2021 after losing more than 250 containers in rough weather in waters off northern Japan.
AIS data indicates the ship got underway from Los Angeles for Yokohama, Japan, on Jan. 28.