The South African Maritime Safety Authority is appealing to the public not to consume any of the products they might have found washed up on beaches. This is after up to 200 containers fell off three different vessels in the past six weeks, spilling the contents which include pharmaceuticals. There are also navigation warnings for containers lost overboard.
According to SAMSA, the cargo vessels include the MV Benjamin Franklin, the MV CMA CGM Belem, MV. Maersk Stepnica, MV Rio Grande Express and MSC Antonia. The MV CMA CGM Belem lost 100 containers an area adjacent Richards Bay on the KwaZulu-Natal coastline and the MSC Antonia lost 46 containers about 29 nautical miles northeast of Port St. Johns, and 40 containers were lost by the CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin.
The MV Ultra Galaxy also suffered a cargo shift during severe weather conditions which led to her being abandoned by her crew. She eventually ran aground off the West Coast resulting in a major oil spill incident.
The container losses are blamed on terrorism activities in the Red Sea which is forcing vessel owners to redirect their ships around the Cape of Good Hope, which is notorious for its treacherous weather conditions, especially during the Winter months.
The loss of containers at sea poses a severe threat to marine life and ecosystems as well as to navigation and warnings have been posted to this effect. SAMSA also reports that efforts are underway to monitor and address any hazards that may arise and has ramped up efforts to collect the debris which has been washing up along the Indian Ocean coastline.
It is collaborating with the relevant authorities and the owners of the affected vessels and a recovery a clean-up plan has been rolled out. In a statement, the organisation says it is “coordinating the cleanup and recovery of shipping containers, flotsam, associated pollutants, and products washing ashore along the South-East coastline of South Africa between the Wild Coast and Mossel Bay.
“This follows the loss of containers from at least three vessels over the past six weeks due to adverse weather conditions. In addition to the flotsam, SAMSA is closely monitoring pharmaceutical bottles containing pills that continue to wash ashore.
“The public is urged not to consume these items under any circumstances as they may pose serious health risks.”
“Environmental cleaning companies, Extreme Projects and SpillTech, have been appointed to lead the clean-up efforts. They have set up collection points for debris washing ashore, and the public is encouraged to call the toll-free number 063 404 2128 to report sightings of containers, pharmaceutical bottles, or other debris and to obtain information on the location of drop-off points.
“Members of the public can also report sightings to their local municipality or contact the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) on 021 938 3300.
DID YOU KNOW? The largest loss of containers at sea was from the ONE Apus which lost 1816 containers in the Pacific Ocean on 30 November 2020 when severe weather caused the 14000 TEU ship to roll, collapsing stacks. A few months later, on 16 January 2021, the MV Maersk Essen lost 689 containers overboard on a routine voyage from Xiamen, China to Los Angeles, USA. The World Shipping Council monitors the number of containers lost overboard and reports that for the 2023-year container losses fell to a record low of 661 units.
