Del monte Fresh Produce UK reported this week that injuries to the captain of reefer vessel The Horncliff, which was caught in high winds last week, were not as serious as first feared, and that the number of containers of bananas, melons and pineapples lost in the storm is also less than initial estimates suggested.
“The captain will make a full recovery,” said Peter Miller, md of Del Monte Fresh Produce UK. “The vessel is being repaired in Falmouth. The hull was damaged where it was struck by a container. It will then sail to Zeebrugge. About 60 containers went overboard, of a total of 96 containers.”
Miller said Del Monte still does not know the full extent of the losses until the hold can be accessed at Zeebrugge. “All of the containers are numbered, but we don’t know what has gone overboard yet and some of the outers in the hold will be in tact, but some will have suffered with the ingress of water. It depends how they were packed.”
So far, The Horncliff damage has not upset Del Monte’s UK supplies to customers. “We have kept going, but we don’t know if there will be a blip,” said Miller. “We already have another ship on the water from Costa Rica.”
The Horncliff was en route from the Caribbean to Dover when the captain had to be airlifted to safety, after his vessel nearly capsized in force 10 winds off the Irish coast. Two other people on board were injured, apparently while attempting to fasten the containers in the storm.
