South American exporters and their transport insurers have apparently suffered one of the biggest cargo losses in container shipping in recent years as a result of a ship delay lasting several weeks.
As the umbrella organization of Chilean fruit exporters Frutas de Chile announced this week, more than 1,300 FEU (forty-foot containers) full of cherries had to be removed from circulation in China and destroyed. According to the information, the goods in question have a total value of around 130 million dollars.
According to Frutas de Chile, the Chinese authorities have banned the marketing of the cherries because they had exceeded their shelf life. The entire shipment was on the container ship “Maersk Saltoro” (9,962 TEU), which departed from Port San Antonio for China on December 27 on the Danish container line’s “Cherry Express” service.
The goods were actually due to arrive in China in mid-January, in time for the Chinese New Year, the peak consumption period. In fact, the ship did not arrive in the port of Nansha until four weeks later on February 17. This was due to engine problems and a three-week interruption to the voyage in the middle of the Pacific. More detailed information on the technical failure is not yet available.
The case is causing a stir in shipping company and insurance circles due to one particular circumstance: The “Maersk Saltoro” is a sister ship of the “Dali”, which collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore around a year ago after a temporary power failure, possibly causing the most expensive transportation loss in history. Maersk chartered both ships from the same owner, Synergy Maritime.
It is still unclear what will happen to the “Maersk Saltoro” after the incident. The freighter is currently docked in Hong Kong and, according to the schedule, will soon be traveling back and forth twice between Xiamen and Tanjung Pelepas – a rather unusual itinerary. Maersk has yet to provide information on the incident. (mph)
