Adverse weather conditions off South Africa’s east coast this past week have led to yet another incident involving lost shipping containers at sea. According to the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), a large container vessel has lost up to 99 containers in this latest event.
In response, SAMSA has issued a navigational warning to vessels operating in the area and has called on the public to report any sightings of the containers that may still be drifting at sea.
SAMSA reported over the weekend that the CMA CGM BELEM, a container ship flying the Maltese flag, encountered severe weather off the coast of Richards Bay on Thursday night. This led to a significant collapse of cargo, resulting in the lost shipping containers at sea.
Initially, the vessel sought shelter in Maputo Bay. However, after further assessment, the decision was made to redirect the ship to Gqeberha. The CMA CGM BELEM is currently making its way slowly towards the Port of Ngqura, with an expected arrival date of 18 August 2024. According to SAMSA, the vessel, built in 2024, is 336 meters in length, 51 meters in height, and has a draft of 14.8 meters.
It is noteworthy that the CMA CGM BELEM is the second ship from the French company Compagnie Maritime d’Affrètement (CMA) and Compagnie Générale Maritime to suffer significant container losses due to severe weather while navigating the Indian Ocean off South Africa.
A month prior, the ultra-large container vessel CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, also Maltese-flagged, reportedly lost up to 40 containers in a similar region. This vessel, en route from Asia to Europe, had to seek refuge at the deep-water port of Ngqura in Algoa Bay near Gqeberha, Eastern Cape. After adjusting its cargo load and receiving clearance from SAMSA, it departed South Africa a few days later, although the search for its lost containers continued.
On Saturday, SAMSA noted that the CMA CGM BELEM, being a large vessel, might best be temporarily docked at the Eastern Cape’s newest deep-water port in Algoa Bay for safety reasons.
Additionally, another vessel, the MV Ultra Galaxy, faced hazardous conditions while en route to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, resulting in the ship listing off the South African coast.
