A Trailer Bridge barge returned to Jacksonville after nine days adrift off the Bahamas, with nearly all of its cargo looted or dumped into the ocean, reported ABC News.

The incident began on November 11 when the tug Southern Dawn suffered mechanical failure en route to Puerto Rico. The tow line snapped, leaving the Brooklyn Bridge barge grounded on a reef three miles off the Bahamas.

By November 13, Trailer Bridge alerted US Coast Guard and Navy officials that about 50 looters were raiding the vessel. Bahamian police declined to intervene, citing safety concerns. Maritime attorney Rod Sullivan said the scale of the theft was unprecedented in the Puerto Rico trade.

Trailer Bridge confirmed that of 192 containers aboard, only 11 remained sealed. The rest were forced open, stripped of valuables, or dumped into the sea. Mr Sullivan estimated each container held US$50,000 to US$200,000 worth of goods.

Cleanup crews have recovered debris across the reef. Mr Sullivan noted maritime theft is rare on the Jacksonville-Puerto Rico route, though common in areas such as the Singapore Straits. He said the barge would likely not have been looted had it not broken away.

The losses are expected to trigger multi-million-dollar insurance claims and cause shortages in Puerto Rico, where families awaited shipments of food, appliances and personal belongings. The barge arrived at JAXPORT on November 21 for unloading and inventory checks.

Trailer Bridge said it is funding reef cleanup and working with insurers to identify stolen cargo. The company thanked US officials for their support and stressed its priority is personnel safety and accurate accounting of customer shipments.