The Cape of Good Hope Tightrope

Not only was the Cape of Good Hope named the Cape of Storms before 1488, it is unofficially known as the…wait for it… “The Graveyard of Ships”!? Sounds perfectly safe!

With over 3000 sunken ships at the Cape’s murky bottom and with its nautical neighbor called False Bay, what could possibly go wrong for the 40 commercial vessels saying their prayers and tightly grasping their lucky rabbits’ feet each day near Cape Town?

This is what goes wrong (especially in their winter):

1. The cold Benguela Current from the Atlantic does a deadly dance with the warm Agulhas Current from the Indian.? Let’s call this the Turbulent Tango!
2. “Cape Doctor” winds whip the sea…in fact, they whip it good.? It’s not too late to whip it and call this the Devo Dance! Our dear friend, the Agulhas Current, sometimes gets cold feet after touching the Atlantic and reverses on herself… this is called retroflection, but we’ll call it the Rogue Wave Rave!
3. Even without 3000 “Titanics” buried in her harbor, the uneven sea floor at the Cape is dominated by canyons and ridges.? This jagged surface only angers the sea and her mighty waves; let’s call this The Raging Rain Dance!
4. The Southern Ocean, packing Antarctic power from South to North, causes massive and menacing swells to join the party.? Yes, this is the Salsa Swell!

Despite her proud maritime history, is it any wonder that France has endured a perilous pirouette leading to two notable “Hopeful” incidents in the last two months?

We watched CMA’s Benjamin Franklin toss her cookies and 44 containers into the sea while enduring damage to 30 more, and then the CMA Belem had a container stack collapse leading to the loss of about 100.?? Oddly enough, experts called CMA CGM “lucky!”?? Well, okay??!!

Look gang, listen up as you brave the dangerous waters of maritime acronyms!

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) in support of the International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) put strong verified gross mass (VGM) requirements in place in July 2016 to protect stevedores, seafarers, the public, and well… vessels!

It is estimated that cargo weights are still incorrect 20% of the time!?? “Hey, it makes me more attractive to ocean carriers!?? Hey, these massive vessels can handle it!”? Bad dog!

Here’s the deal:?? the best way to combat violent weather and seas is to stack your containers from heavy to light on-board.?? This is the single best prevention methods for container stack collapse and for overall vessel stability.

Please don’t be that impressive specimen of a "polar bear" boarding a regional jet while giving his weight as 156 lbs!?? Coach your staff and your suppliers to be as exact as possible when obtaining and providing VGM data.?? Your cargo and sailors with their dance cards extremely full at the Cape of Good Hoop will thank you… no, they really will!