The adverse weather and rough sea conditions continue to batter South Africa’s coastline, creating significant challenges for maritime navigation. This comes at a time when shipping traffic has notably increased as vessels reroute to avoid the Red Sea. Container ships, in particular, have been affected, often losing dozens of containers at sea. The latest incident, reported by the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), involved the Liberian-flagged MSC Antonia, which lost 46 containers on August 28, while an additional 305 were damaged. The incident occurred approximately 29 nautical miles northeast of Port St. Johns as the vessel was en route from Colombo to New York.
Following the accident, the MSC Antonia made its way to the port of Cape Town, arriving on August 30, to assess the damage and undertake necessary repairs. South African authorities have initiated operations to locate and recover the lost containers and have urged mariners to report any sightings and proceed with caution, as floating containers pose a serious hazard to navigation.
This marks the second major loss of containers in the area in just a few days. During the night of August 15-16, the CMA CGM Belem, flying the Maltese flag, lost 99 containers off the coast of Richards Bay, again due to rough seas. The 336-meter vessel initially sought shelter in Maputo Bay but was redirected to Gqeberha. The ship is currently docked in Algoa Bay, near Gqeberha. SAMSA has since spotted around 20 containers along the Transkei Wild Coast, though it remains uncertain whether they belong to the CMA CGM Belem.
Another significant incident occurred off the coast of South Africa on July 9, involving another CMA CGM vessel, the Benjamin Franklin, which was sailing from Singapore to Europe. On that occasion, the ship lost 44 containers, while another 30 were damaged onboard. The severe weather, which has included heavy rains, strong winds, and waves reaching heights of up to eight meters, has been disrupting shipping routes since early July. On July 8, conditions were so extreme that container ships in the Cape of Good Hope area were forced to halt operations entirely.
