Extreme weather halts container traffic at Cape of Good Hope

“We have a complete stop at the Cape of Good Hope for container ships – east and west. There is no significant change in Red Sea traffic so far, but several container ships have made turnarounds and/or are waiting off the coast of Durban,” said Fabrice Maille, global head of Shipping & Agriculture at LSEG.

Since 8 July, daily transit data and vessel location data from the LSEG Workspace Interactive Map have shown no container vessels passing the Cape of Good Hope, adding to the congestion and delays already worsened by the Red Sea crisis. The Interactive Map indicates marine weather with waves over 10 meters high.

Isaac Hankes, senior weather analyst at LSEG, observed that the waves off the South African coast coincided with a strong cyclone that impacted the region on the previous Sunday, bringing temperatures well below normal.

He commented, “This was a powerful cyclone (with winds that generated the waves), but we are not seeing anything extraordinary in the data. Something comparable happened in early June, for example. These events are like a cold air outbreak in the South Africa winter, in the Northern Hemisphere context.”

Hankes added, “There is another cyclone likely to impact South Africa later this week, so the issue with the waves may continue yet with respect to shipping issues. However, the AAO will soon move into its positive phase, which could signal the end of strong cyclones after the one later this week.”

This situation aligns with LSEG Commodities’ recent forecast, which predicts a potentially record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season this year, following the pattern expected after the exceptionally strong storm Beryl for this time of year.