Since early July 2024, the Cape of Good Hope area has been hit by a severe weather front, impacting naval traffic forced to circumnavigate Africa due to the Red Sea crisis. According to data from Lseg Shipping Research, no container ships have managed to transit around the Cape of Good Hope in either direction since July 8 due to extreme weather conditions caused by a passing cyclone. Additionally, another cyclone is anticipated to arrive.
Waves have reached heights of up to ten meters, posing a significant risk to vessels in the area. On July 11, Cma Cgm reported that the large container ship Benjamin Franklin lost 44 containers at sea off the coast of South Africa, with another 33 containers on board damaged. The company clarified that the ship itself was not damaged and no crew members were injured.
Apart from specific incidents, this wave of severe weather is further delaying container transport from Asia to Europe, exacerbating port congestion. The extended route through the Cape of Good Hope already adds at least two weeks to navigation time under normal weather conditions, but now both time and costs are increasing further, straining supply chains.
Forecasts for the third week of July indicate a slight improvement but remain concerning for navigation, particularly for securing containers. Throughout the week, the sea off the Cape of Good Hope is expected to stay very rough, with waves consistently over 2.5 meters and peaks of 3.6-3.7 meters during the weekend.
