Ships bypass the Red Sea. More and more containers fall over the side of the Cape of Good Hope

The number of containers falling over the side of commercial vessels increases, because the shipowners avoid the Red Sea covered by war operations and swim Africa, overcoming turbulent waters around the Cape of Good Hope.

According to the annual report of the World Shipping Council (WSC) in 2024, this change of route caused a loss of 576 containers. A year earlier, 221 containers fell into the sea, and this year promises to be even worse, because only one ship of MSC Elsa, which in May sank in the Arabian Sea, transported 640 containers, of which the sea so far threw only 60 ashore.

Last year, the South African Maritime Security Office (SMSA) informed at least three serious incidents that occurred at the southern coast of South Africa between July and September 2024. In total, these ships lost 189 containers at that time, which means that the Cape of Good Hope is responsible for more than a third of global losses.

Last year, the number of ships choosing the route along Africa increased by 191 percent. Compared to 2023, and in the current one, due to the conflict of Israel and the United States with Iran and the attacks of Yemenian Rebels Huti, growth is even greater. Under normal conditions, most of these ships would not flow near the African Cape, where winter storms go crazy between June and August.

“Despite the continuous efforts of the industry aimed at preventing losses, redirecting transit from the Red Sea and around the Cape of Good Hope to maintain global trade in traffic, causes the Morscy carriers to move one of the most difficult routes in the world,” admitted Joe Kramek, president and general director of the WSC.

The organization, however, calms the shipowners, because the number of lost containers, although growing, is less than the average for 2021-2023, which was 1061. One of the worst for this industry was 2019, when about 16,000 was lost. containers. A year later, only one ship One Apus lost them as much as 1816. (PAP)

Tebe/ AP/