SHIP CARRYING 8000 CARS STUCK IN PE
It’s believed about 8,000 VW Polos, Caddys and Ford Rangers had to be unloaded after the ship the cars were carried on was damaged by weather.
Inclement weather caused damage so bad that the ship is now moored at the Port of Port Elizabeth.
A spokesperson for the Eastern Cape Maritime Business Chamber said that the ship was hit by high winds and storms while out at sea.
“The current understanding is there was a hydraulic failure within the vessel itself while it was still at sea, and that was the result of the high seas when we had all the storms in the past week.”
The ship returned to the port after the damage was sustained and the cars were unloaded as authorities began their investigation to determine the cause of the incident.
Port Elizabeth is a popular harbour for car exports as Isuzu manufactures its D-Max bakkie in the Eastern Cape. VW assembles the Polo and Polo Vivo hatchbacks in the province, while Ford produces the engines for the Ranger and the VW Amarok bakkies in Gauteng.
The city’s port is used to shipping thousands of vehicles to the rest of the world on a monthly basis.
Image credit: Africa Ports