Search underway after French-owned ship loses 44 containers off S.Africa
The Peninsula
Johannesburg: Authorities were scouring the ocean off South Africa s east coast Wednesday for 44 containers missing after breaking loose from a French...
Johannesburg: Authorities were scouring the ocean off South Africa's east coast Wednesday for 44 containers missing after breaking loose from a French-owned ship in heavy seas last week, the maritime body said.
The ultra-large container ship heading to Le Havre from Asia encountered bad weather in the Indian Ocean near the city of Durban on July 9, the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) said.
Aerial surveys of the area were being carried out to trace the containers and other vessels in the area have been asked to look out for them, SAMSA spokesman Tebogo Ramatjie told AFP.
"We've received information from passing ships. Some of them spotted containers in the area but our aerial survey have not found any containers yet," he said.
The cargo was lost when a container stack collapsed on the Benjamin Franklin, a Maltese-flagged ship owned by French logistics firm CMA CGM. Thirty other containers were damaged.
