Cape Town, South Africa’s most picturesque port city, is set to run out of water within the next two months.
A prolonged drought has caused an alarming drop in dam levels — they are almost empty — and residents have been facing severe water restrictions for many months.
The restrictions apply to shipping as well. Fred Olsen learned a costly lesson when its 28,500-gt cruiseship Boudicca (built 1973) docked at Cape Town for a two-day call. There just wasn’t enough to supply to the ship.
The passengers looking forward to an evening ashore, to enjoy the city’s famous waterfront and lively nightlife scene, missed out as the ship had to leave to top up its freshwater tanks.
The Boudicca, like most large ships, is equipped with a desalination plant to turn seawater into drinking water. But these are expensive to operate, so most shipowners prefer to take on water at ports, which works out significantly cheaper. Factor in the extra costs of pilotage, tugs and bunker fuel, that water-replenishing exercise must have been far from a drop in the ocean.
However, the Boudicca returned the next morning, allowing passengers to quench their thirst to Cape Town's sights.
