CT terminal measures delays in the hundreds of hours

A BRACE of container ships lay helpless against the onslaught of a fierce, unrelenting, opponent – the infamous South Easter – on Monday as wind speeds of 90km/h and more knocked out all Cape Town container terminal waterside operations. Aside from eight containerships, a liquid natural gas carrier and at least four bulk carriers suffered the same fate. When this issue went to press at 08:00 on Monday (January 28), wind had accounted for berthing stoppages of 18 hours, hence the following grim scenario. • MSC Messina (99 hours) • MOL Bravery (80 hours) • Barrier (104 hours) • Sealand Patriot (105 hours) • MSC Mediterranean (99 hours) • Safmarine Nokwanda (105 hours) • Bunga Rayasatu (90 hours) • Kota Azam (90 hours) According to Transnet Port Terminals the wind is not expected to let up for the remainder of the day, the problem further compounded by the fact that a good number of the affected vessels are large, in the 260-290 metre-long range, and about to load larger cargoes, translating into longer stays in port.