It’s not been the best of weeks in Durban harbour, with two ships grounding on submerged sandbanks.
One of the ships involved is the container ship NILEDUTCH BREDA which entered service in the Asia – West Africa service at the end of June. According to the Niledutch website, she was on her maiden visit to Durban. What isn’t reported is that she ran aground onto a sand hump near berth 107 and became stuck. The vessel was eventually pulled clear and damage appears to be minimal as the vessel has since sailed.
Niledutch Breda is deployed on the rotation Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Shekou, Singapore, Durban, Pointe Noire, Luanda, Lobito, Namibe, Shanghai.
The second vessel to come to a sticky halt was a Maersk container ship that became stuck on a sandbank close to the turning basin for ships going to DCT – this is in front and to the side of the T-Jetty. It took about 9 hours to get her clear.