Fog and wind impact Cape shipping

‘Mellow and ‘idyllic’ are favoured descriptions of Cape Town weather in April but it can be unpredictable too, as last week demonstrated when pea soup-thick fog and strong wind alternated in impacting on shipping operations. At Cape Town Container Terminal’s Berth 603, the containership MSC Barbara was held up for more than six hours by overnight fog on April 13/14 while the vessel Horizon was incapacitated for more than eight hours due to dense fog. On April 15 Maersk Douglas, which had been awaiting cargo, was windbound at Berth 603 for 13 hours and 30 minutes due to wind while Safmarine Asia (Berth 601) was delayed for 14 hours and five minutes for the same reason.