July 29 (lloyd's List) - TRANSITS round the Cape of Good Hope are lower than last week after bad weather battered the southern tip of the African continent for the second time this month.
Total transits were down 14.8% in the week commencing July 22, with 597 compared with 701 during week commencing July 15.
The container and bulk carrier sectors showed the biggest decreases, falling 16.9% and 18.5% respectively.
Weather reporting sites showed conditions this morning remained rough in the region off the southeast of South Africa. Wind was gusting up to Force 9, with swell from the southwest meeting the southwest-flowing Agulhas current, creating short-period waves of more than 8 metres.
Conditions in the region have affected efforts to secure Panama-flagged bulker Ultra Galaxy (IMO: 9449352), which ran aground off the South African coast on July 8.
The South African Maritime Safety Authority said the vessel had broken into four sections on July 28 after being battered by waves overnight.
The accommodation block broke first, which lead to several further cracks on the hull. Samsa said oil had spilled from the bulker.
“A pre-prepared oil spill contingency plan was initiated this (Sunday) morning, and additional personnel have been drafted in to assist with cleaning the spill,” the authority said.
The spill occurred after salvors were able to remove 8 tonnes of marine gas oil from Ultra Galaxy’s fuel tanks last week.
Bad weather is expected to continue until Wednesday this week. Samsa said salvage operations would only resume when it was safe so to do.
