Maltese-flagged new-generation ultra-large container vessel, CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, sailed from South Africa on Tuesday after it had undergone cargo hold strengthening work.
The SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) said in a statement on Thursday that the vessel had departed from Algoa Bay as efforts continued to locate the more than three dozen containers it lost in the Indian Ocean during heavy storms last week. The vessel, one of the world’s biggest cargo containerships, had called at Algoa Bay to seek shelter from the adverse weather and to have her cargo hold strengthened in preparation for the rest of her journey to Western Europe.
It anchored in Algoa Bay on Friday last week, after a harrowing bad weather experience in the Indian Ocean along South Africa, and during which she reported a loss of 44 containers overboard.
According to Samsa, the incident occurred in the Indian Ocean earlier in the morning of July 9 when she reported a collapsed container stack. The vessel then diverted to Algoa Bay, where she anchored in sheltered waters to undergo a comprehensive damage assessment, which included the remaining cargo still on board.
A ship navigation warning had since been issued by the Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre (MRCC) based at Samsa’s Centre for Sea Watch & Response in Cape Town, and remains in place.
“The ultra-large container vessel, the CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, has left Algoa Bay. She sailed on the evening of Tuesday, July 16,” Samsa said.
“She had been anchored in sheltered waters in Algoa Bay since last week, undergoing a comprehensive assessment while her cargo was being secured. The vessel had reported a collapsed container stack and the loss of 44 containers at sea,” the maritime authority added.
Samsa cleared the vessel to sail after assessing a cargo securing plan received from the vessel’s owners.
“After the cargo stacks were secured in Algoa Bay, the owners identified a suitable weather window to conduct the passage around the Cape of Good Hope.
“To ensure that any settling of cargo during the sea passage is dealt with, the owner has opted to keep a cargo securing specialist and a team of rope access technicians on board for the voyage northward.
“By Wednesday, July 17, at noon, the vessel was reported to be making good speed towards Cape Agulhas, and on Thursday morning she was passing St Helena Bay,” Samsa said.
The next phase of the operation is to understand the fate of the lost containers.
“It is highly probable that these containers are located on the seabed outside of South African waters in depths of more than 500 metres,” Samsa said.
Samsa and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment will work closely with the owner and its insurers to chart a way forward regarding the containers on the seabed.
“A navigation warning to all vessels operating in the area remains active, advising them to navigate with caution,” Samsa said.
Vessels and the public are urged to report any sightings of the lost containers to MRCC on (021) 938 3300 with the position, number and colour of the containers spotted.
