A large container ship loaded with Chinese goods encountered severe weather, and nearly 100 containers fell into the sea

The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) issued an announcement stating that due to severe weather, a container ship CMA CGM Belem with a capacity of up to 13,000TEU under CMA CGM encountered severe weather and suffered a serious accident on the east coast of South Africa, where the stacking on the ship collapsed and 99 containers fell into the sea!

The CMA CGM Belem container fell into the water last Thursday (August 15) local time. The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) said that it received reports of a “serious stack collapse” on the CMA CGM Belem, and the ship then sought a port of refuge.

SAMSA said: “The ship initially took refuge in Maputo Bay. However, after further evaluation, it was decided to divert the ship to Port Elizabeth.”

Considering the size of the ship, 145,650 deadweight tons, 336 meters in length and 48.5 feet (14.8 meters) of draft, the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) said that Ngqura Terminal is the only local terminal suitable for the ship to anchor

The ship’s AIS signal showed that as of late Sunday (18th), the ship had arrived at the Port Elizabeth anchorage. CMA CGM has not yet made a statement on the matter, but a full damage assessment may be underway.

The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) said: “Stack collapse has been confirmed and the affected containers need to be unloaded at the container port facility upon arrival.”

It is worth noting that the CMA CGM Belem, where the stack collapsed and the container fell into the water, is a new LNG-powered container ship that was just named and launched last month with a capacity of up to 13,000 TEUs. The accident was also the ship’s maiden voyage! A serious accident occurred on the maiden voyage

The CMA CGM Belem was built in 2024 with a capacity of 13,200 TEUs and is flying the Malta flag. It is currently deployed by CMA CGM on the Asia-South America SEAS2 route, which calls at Tianjin Xingang, Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen Shekou and other ports in China.