French liner CMA CGM has stated that one of its containerships lost 44 containers at sea due to adverse weather conditions off the coast of South Africa. The 2005-built, 17,859 teu CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin faced severe weather on Tuesday, July 9, during a westbound voyage from Asia to Europe and suffered and loss of 44 containers at sea while another 30 were damaged on the vessel. Fortunately, there were no injuries to the crew, pollution, or damage to the vessel which remains fully seaworthy. After inspection, it was assessed that all containers lost at sea contained harmless goods and did not contain any dangerous cargo. The company notified the relevant authorities and proceeded to Cape Town for a throughout assessment of the situation and took all relevant and necessary measures to ensure a safe prosecution of the sea voyage. From the beginning of the week, Cape Town has been hit by bad weather. Nearly 1,000 homes in informal settlements in the city have been destroyed by gale-force winds, displacing around 4,000 people. According to South African weather authorities, this kind of weather will persist until at least Friday. The entire week so far has been filled with strong winds accompanied by torrential rain, flooding, and mudslides. The CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin has not been the only victim of the strong winds that have plagued both the offshore and onshore parts of South Africa. The Ultrabulk-managed 13,800 dwt Ultra Galaxy listed near South Africa on Monday but the 18-strong crew was rescued after evacuating in a life raft. Earlier today, Splash reported that the vessel ran aground off the coast of Brand se Baai on the West Coast, 385km north of Cape Town. Efforts to prevent a fuel and oil spill are currently underway. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsCMA CGM France South Africa