Residents wait for news of containers after ships collide
▶ The Tolten, operated by Hapag-Lloyd, lost about 20 containers when it collided with another vessel in Karachi
A cargo vessel travelling from Dubai to the UK, carrying among its load at least 10 shipping containers hired by UAE residents, has crashed near Karachi.
The collision took place between 2.30pm and 3pm last Monday when the ship was being mastered by a pilot from the Karachi Port Trust.
Thousands of businesses and individuals are awaiting news on the fate of their possessions while an investigation is under way to determine what was lost.
Once an evaluation has been made by the port authority, the
Tolten should be allowed to sail on to the UK, although it is expected to take at least 10 days.
Hapag-Lloyd, which operates the ship, said the vessel collided with another while berthing.
Alison Ghanem, who is repatriating after 27 years in Dubai with husband Ali and whose items could be among those lost, said it was their “worst nightmare”, and that the delay would cost them “a lot of unexpected and unplanned expenses.”
The Tolten set sail from Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port on March 13 and was making a stop before journeying on to Felixstowe, England.
Relocation companies and shipping agents are trying to determine if goods in transit under their responsibility were also on board.
Families who fear they have lost their possessions in a container ship crash near Karachi face an anxious wait to discover if anything can be recovered.
The 300-metre Tolten, operated by German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, was sailing from Dubai to Felixstowe in the UK when it collided with another cargo ship at the South Asia Pakistan Terminals in Keamari.
An inquiry is under way to determine the cause of the collision, and liability for losses, after about 20 shipping containers were lost overboard.
More than 10 hired by UAE families who were moving their possessions back home are thought to have been caught up in the incident.
Dubai relocation companies and shipping agents are trying to determine if goods in transit under their responsibility were also on board.
Radio presenter Stef Burgon is one of those likely to be affected after she and her husband Simon sent goods in a container to their home in Scotland.
“We were notified on email by our shipping company, Dasa,” Burgon said. “It’s the kind of email you have to read twice to really take in.
“Once you do, items you’ve spent weeks putting in the ‘keep’ pile start flashing through your mind – the antique plates I bought at a market in Nice, the R M Williams boots my husband wore at our wedding that his dad bought for his wedding in the 1970s, his grandfather’s diary and his camera that still has a film inside.
“We’re insured but that won’t cover those losses. I’m hoping we’re lucky.”
The Tolten set sail from Jebel Ali Port on March 13 and was making a stop in Karachi before journeying on to the UK.
Thousands of businesses and people are awaiting news on the fate of their possessions. It is expected to take at least 10 days for investigators to determine exactly what has been lost and who is affected.
Others facing an anxious wait are Ala and Alison Ghanem, who used a Dubai relocation company to ship a 40-foot container to the UK.
They are repatriating after 27 years in Dubai and received an email the day after the incident, telling them their goods were on board.
“It’s our worst nightmare. It looks like absolute chaos, devastation,” Mrs Ghanem said. “After such a horrific accident, a delayed shipment rather than a lost one would be welcomed with open arms.
“It’s still a big problem. We have planned our relocation dates around the arrival of our container. We have no clear information to work with and a longer time in a serviced apartment comes with a lot of unexpected and unplanned expenses.”
If the Tolten is damaged, the company could choose to institute general average, a shipping procedure that would involve all clients with goods on board being held liable for a proportion of the repair costs.
While many insurance policies cover clients for general average, it could lead to delays in the shipment of items on board for up to eight months.
Simone Percy, marketing manager for Dasa, said: “We are operating under a policy of full transparency with our customers but Hapag-Lloyd aren’t telling us anything at this stage.
“We don’t anticipate hearing anything from them for 10 days and we can understand how frustrating and upsetting this is.
“As our customers’ goods were going on to the final stop in Felixstowe, we are hopeful that our containers would have been loaded into the middle of the ship, so it’s unlikely that they are among those that have gone overboard.
“General average would be a worst case scenario for everyone involved. All our customers are fully covered by insurance, but if that were declared nothing would move forward until all payments are received, which can take months.”
The incident took place between 2.30pm and 3pm last Monday, when the ship was being mastered by a Karachi Port Trust pilot.
International guidelines state a ship moving in and out of a port area must be handled by a port pilot until the ship is safely berthed or has sailed out.
Once a full evaluation and report has been made by the port authority, the Tolten should be allowed to continue its journey.
Hapag-Lloyd said: “Our ship, the Tolten, rammed another ship while berthing in Karachi. We deeply regret that this incident occurred. There is yet to be a definitive explanation for this incident.
“We will conduct an in-depth investigation of the incident, and are working as hard as we can to get the vessel back on its way as quickly as possible.”
British expatriate Gail Thompson, who lives in Dubai, has helped scores of families regain possessions lost in 2016.
“Insurance is so important,” Ms Thompson said. “There is a good chance that unless the people who have lost their items have been moved by their new employer, they won’t have taken out the most comprehensive policy that would cover them for this kind of eventuality.
“These kind of pitfalls are unusual when moving to another country, but they do happen and people should be prepared for every eventuality when relocating back to their country of origin, or another posting elsewhere.”
We don’t anticipate hearing anything from them for 10 days and we can understand how frustrating and upsetting this is SIMONE PERCY Marketing manager for Dasa