Terry Hutson ANOTHER SHIPPING line has come forward to dispute MOL’s claim that its Mosel Ace was the first car carrier to call at the port of Cape Town (FTW February 21, 2003). “Not on your life, please correct that story,” said the voice coming from Barwil’s Durban office no sooner had the FTW landed on his desk. It turns out that not one but two Wilhelmsen Wallenius car carriers have already called at Cape Town, on both occasions to discharge yachts for an international yacht race. “It may have been the first MOL car carrier in the port but was certainly not the first ever,” FTW was told rather emphatically. Of course car carriers are old hat to port watchers in Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth, where they call regularly to load and discharge cars for the burgeoning motor trade. In fact it is not unusual to have three or sometimes four of them in Durban on a single day, causing a traffic jam of a different sort. K Line has also disputed the claim. Two of its car carriers called at Cape Town ten years ago to discharge Romanian ‘bakkies’.
