Jeopardy Of The Cape Of Good Hope Route
Sailing around the Cape of Good Hope was considered extremely dangerous during ‘The Age Of Sail‘, when tall ships and wooden vessels ruled the seas, and the route is not without jeopardy even for today’s modern container ships.
Down the years, The Cape is believed to have been responsible for over 1,000 shipwrecks and was nicknamed the ‘the graveyard of ships’ in the olden days. Unpredictable weather, with strong winds and rough seas, can often pose a serious threat to the safety of vessels and their crews.
Since the turn of this year, the threat of Houthi attacks on commercial shipping have made Red Sea passages too dangerous. Subsequently, the vast majority of container ships moving from Asia to Europe have been rerouted around The Cape Of Good Hope, and even today’s sophisticated vessels are not immune to its pitfalls.
On July 8th, the 124 metre general cargo carrier Ultra Galaxy ran aground and capsized in the region. Fortunately, the crew were rescued after abandoning ship when the vessel first developed a heavy list in severe weather conditions. Containerships near the region were moored up for a couple of days until the heavy storms passed through the area, delaying several vessel journeys into Europe.
Ocean freight carriers have witnessed a spate of containers lost overboard or damaged while travelling around the Cape in the past couple of months, most notably;
- 9th July – CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin lost 44 containers overboard.
- 15th August – CMA CGM Belem lost 99 containers overboard. .
- 28th August – MSC Antonio lost 46 containers and 305 more were damaged.
So, travelling around the Cape Of Good Hope continues to have its jeopardy.
This undoubtedly serves as timely reminder for importers and exporters to ensure they have the correct cargo insurance is in place. If you are not sure what cover you have in place, then please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss further. By email info@evolutionforwarding.com or via phone 0800 4346244.
