About CAPE CREST
CAPE CREST is a United Kingdom-flagged Heavy Lift registered under IMO 9560596 (MMSI 348517247) and currently associated with the Port of Durban, South Africa. Vessels in this class belong to the broader commercial port family — operationally that means cargo handling and voyage planning are dominated by a mixed fleet of merchant vessels including general cargo ships, container feeders, and small bulk carriers. Cargo handling combines fixed gantry plant with mobile cranes and conventional break-bulk gear. She measures 147 metres in length overall by 19 metres in beam, with a gross tonnage of 50,944 GT and a deadweight of 67,032 tonnes.
The vessel is shown at anchor, typically waiting for a berth, awaiting tide, taking bunkers, or holding while clearance and documentation are finalised. Her current declared estimated time of arrival is May 5, 2026 11:42 UTC, although ETAs are routinely revised in transit to reflect weather, routeing and pilot scheduling. She was built in 2012. The vessel is registered with the International Maritime Organization, whose database of registered ships and the conventions governing their operation is published at the IMO conventions library.
IMO numbers are issued by IHS Markit on behalf of the International Maritime Organization and remain attached to the hull for the lifetime of the vessel â they do not change with sale, re-flagging, or rename. MMSI numbers, in contrast, are issued by the flag state’s telecommunications administration and identify the vessel’s radio installation; an MMSI changes when a vessel changes flag. When researching an individual ship across historical records â particularly for incident investigation, port state inspection history, or insurance claims â the IMO number (9560596) is the stable identifier to anchor the search on, while the MMSI is the right key for AIS reception logs and VHF radio licensing records.
The vessel’s declared dimensions of 147 metres length overall by 19 metres beam, with 50,944 gross tonnage and 67,032 tonnes deadweight, place her in a specific size class within the global heavy lift fleet. These particulars determine which port berths she can use, which canals she can transit (Panama Canal locks, Suez Canal draught, the Strait of Malacca’s Malaccamax constraint), and which terminals around the world have the cranes and yard plant to work her efficiently.