Expat families who fear they’ve lost most of their possessions in a shipping vessel crash near Karachi face an anxious wait to discover if anything can be recovered.
The 300-metre-long Tolten vessel operated by German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd was enroute from Dubai to Felixstowe in the UK when it collided with another cargo ship at the South Asia Pakistan Terminals (SAPT), Keamari.
An inquiry is underway to determine the cause of a collision that resulted in about 20 shipping containers being lost overboard to determine liability for the losses.
More than 10 hired by UAE families who were moving their household goods back home are thought to have been caught up in the incident.
Several Dubai-based relocation companies and shipping agents are now trying to determine if goods in transit under their responsibility were also on board.
Dubai-based radio presenter, Stef Burgon, is one of those likely affected after she and her husband Simon sent a partial container of goods home to their property in Scotland.
“We were notified on email by our shipping company, DASA,” she 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 RM Williams boots my husband wore for 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.”
Hapag-Lloyd's Tolten set sail from Dubai's Jebel Ali port on March 13 and was making a stop in Karachi before journeying on to the UK.
Thousands of commercial and individual customers are awaiting news on the fate of their possessions.
Others facing an anxious wait are Ala and Alison Ghanem who used a Dubai-based relocation firm 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, informing them their goods were on board.
“It’s our worst nightmare. It looks like absolute chaos, devastation,” said Mrs Ghanem.
“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.”
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Read more:
Hundreds of expats lose possessions in transit after paying relocation firm thousands
More victims of Dubai relocation company ‘likely’ as insurance firm starts investigation
Scotsman told insurance documents given by Dubai company were fake
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If the Hapag-Lloyd vessel is damaged, the company could choose to institute general average, a shipping procedure that would see all clients with goods on board 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 around six to eight months.
One of the Dubai international moving firms thought to be affected is DASA.
“We are operating under a policy of full transparency with our customers, but Hapag-Lloyd aren’t telling us anything at this stage,” said Simone Percy, marketing manager for DASA.
“We don’t anticipate hearing anything from them for 10 days, and we can understand how frustrating and upsetting this is.
“As our customer’s 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 on Monday, March 19, when the ship was being mastered by a Karachi Port Trust (KPT) 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 either safely berthed or sailed out.
Once a full evaluation and report has been made by the port authority, the Tolten should be allowed to continue its journey.
A Hapag-Lloyd statement 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 expat Gail Thompson, who lives in Dubai, has helped scores of families who lost possessions when rogue moving companies failed to deliver their containers after leaving the UAE in 2016.
“Insurance is so important,” she 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.”
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PRO BASH
Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
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Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
If you go
The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.
The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
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THE BIO
Favourite holiday destination: Whenever I have any free time I always go back to see my family in Caltra, Galway, it’s the only place I can properly relax.
Favourite film: The Way, starring Martin Sheen. It’s about the Camino de Santiago walk from France to Spain.
Personal motto: If something’s meant for you it won’t pass you by.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
Famous left-handers
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Empire of Enchantment: The Story of Indian Magic
John Zubrzycki, Hurst Publishers
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
EU Russia
The EU imports 90 per cent of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40 per cent of EU gas and a quarter of its oil.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
