According to the MCA, 50 coastguards are out looking for the missing 40ft long containers, which include one containing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of BMW motorbikes.
The oils will be the first priority, the ship's bunkers, fuel oil, and then the containers which are considered most hazardous first," said the MCA's Paul Coley.
The 275m (900ft), 62,000-tonne Napoli is registered in London and owned by the Swiss Mediterranean Shipping Company.