Kuehne+Nagel aims to provide the most up-to-date operational information so you can make more informed decisions for your cargo. Our weekly Port Update summarises events impacting global port operations this past week and what should be considered when planning future shipments.

Operational News

Africa and the Middle East

Morocco

Casablanca: CMA CGM reports that the port was closed from 3 - 11 November due to bad weather. This has increased vessel waiting time this week.

Senegal

Dakar: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 3.5 days. Carriers are suspension of fixed berthing windows and poor productivity. Container yards are also congested, slowing down import deliveries. The port is also battling equipment issues, which is adding to delays.

South Africa

There have been slow improvements to port productivity in Cape Town and Durban this week as terminal recovery plans are implemented. These include replacing and repairing various port machinery in the short and long term.

According to a Maersk advisory, recovery is expected to take 1-3 weeks at Cape Town and Port Elizabeth terminals. Around 8-12 weeks is estimated for Durban Pier 2 and 3-4 weeks for Durban Pier 1.

Vessels at South African ports are experiencing delays both at anchor and at berth. The above-mentioned waiting times for Cape Town and Durban, of 2 and 8.95 days, respectively, are the waiting times at anchor.

According to Kuehne+Nagel sources, some vessels are delayed in total up to:

• 20 days in Durban as a result of low productivity.
• 10-12 days in Cape Town due to delays in Durban, weather interruptions and low productivity.
• 8-10 days at Coega.

Carriers are changing rotations and vessel schedules and implementing contingency plans to maintain schedule integrity.

Asia

Europe

Seasonal bad weather, including storms, high winds, fog and freezing temperatures, is characteristic of European winters. As the season begins, landside and port operations disruptions can be expected.

This week, ports in the UK were affected by Storm Debi, which brought strong winds, resulting in operational partial and full stops in Felixstowe and Liverpool. Adverse weather is also forecast for parts of France this week, which could see delays to road cargo.

Germany

Hamburg: HHLA has announced that a company-wide meeting will take place on 21 November 2023. Between 12:30 pm and 7:00 pm, rail orders will be severely restricted on this day, and customers are asked to adjust their scheduling accordingly.

Israel

The situation at Israeli ports remains stable; however, delays and disruptions can be expected. Port operations in Ashdod have been reduced, and ships are being diverted to Haifa. Waiting times in Haifa and Ashdod are under 2 days.

Furthermore, this week, severe weather warnings are in place for much of Israel. According to Crisis24, authorities may temporarily suspend port operations along the Mediterranean coast if strong winds cause safety concerns.

Flooding could block regional rail lines. Freight train delays and cancellations are possible. Kuehne+Nagel; however, expect ports to continue operations normally.

Italy

Port workers and truckers will strike nationwide for 24 hours on 17 November. According to Kuehne+Nagel, terminal operations and intermodal could face challenges since all transport unions will be on strike that day.

Poland

Gdansk: The 7-day average vessel waiting time has improved this week. The port continues to battle heavy congestion. Carriers are rerouting cargo to other ports, such as Gdynia, to avoid congestion and delays in Gdansk. There are currently no waiting vessels at anchor in Gdansk or Gdynia.

Rail slots were reduced between 23 October and 13 November by 40%. This added pressure to truck availability. Delays are expected to continue until congestion is alleviated in Gdansk.

Portugal

Two unions representing maritime pilots in Portugal announced a series of strikes this month affecting all Portuguese ports. The first round of strikes took place from 6 - 8 November. The next round of strikes began at 7:00 am on 14 November and will continue until 7:00 am on 16 November.

North America

US

Fog season has started in the Gulf area. Vessel delays and port omissions, particularly in New Orleans, are possible.

Savannah: Congestion in Savannah is due to berth construction expected to last until the end of this year.

Central and Latin America

Brazil

Navegantes: The port is open and operational; however, the backlog is significant. Carriers have contingencies in place to clear cargo over the upcoming weeks. Draft limitations and terminal restrictions are still in place.

The Cauquenes is currently the only vessel in port. Recent departures include CMA CGM Santos and MSC Phoenix.

Port closures are possible at short notice since the rainy season is still underway.

Manaus: The low water levels in the Amazon have restricted the allowable draft for vessels calling the port. Due to this, capacity restrictions on services to Manaus continue during the dry season, which usually ends in December. Some carriers have stopped services to Manaus altogether until the situation improves.

Panama

Protests in the country over the last three weeks continue without a solution. Kuehne+Nagel Panama reports that the ports are operating normally; however, demonstrations and roadblocks are disrupting trucks on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as follows:

• Access to Atlantic ports is blocked daily from 4 am, which does not allow access to the Colon Zone. When truckers attempt to access roads earlier, they find they are blocked.

• Pacific ports are operating normally with few clearance operations due to road closures. Deliveries are more successful if within a 30km radius. Import delivery or export pick-ups beyond a radius of 85 km are currently not possible as access to many provinces is blocked due to protests.

These disruptions are expected to continue until late November.

Panama Canal: The Panama Canal Authority began its phased reduction of vessels transiting the canal last week. From 7 to 30 November, the number of bookable slots has been reduced to 24. Further reductions are planned for December and 2024. The average waiting time for non-booked vessels is around 3 – 4 days. This is expected to increase depending on the demand and the impact of the slot reductions. Full details can be found on Sea News.

Oceania

Australia

DP World Australia detected a cyber-attack on Friday, 10 November. Landside operations were suspended over the weekend. The systems were partially restored on Monday, 13 November, and it could take a few days to restore fully.

As a result, congestion is increasing at all terminals. To clear the backlog, the terminals have suspended export deliveries until further notice. Import containers with long dwell times will be prioritised for pick-up, and limited export gate-ins based on vessel priority, primarily in Melbourne and Brisbane.

As a result of ongoing industrial action and the cyber-attack, Kuehne-Nagel expects delays in retrieving and delivering containers from/to all DP World terminals over the coming weeks.

New Zealand

Auckland: According to the Ports of Auckland, operations are running smoothly and berthing time windows have improved. The yard was at 67% capacity late last week. There are no waiting vessels outside Auckland currently.

Other Port News

Europe

Spain

Barcelona:  A new direct rail service between Spain and France is now available, announced Container News. The rail service will carry 108 containers per trip from Barcelona to southern French cities, Toulouse and Lyon. A first of its kind, the direct service does not require a transhipment or changing locomotives post the Perthus tunnel crossing. Starting in early November, there will be three weekly direct block trains between Barcelona and Toulouse and one weekly connection between Barcelona and Lyon. The service is a collaboration between APM Terminals Railways Spain, Synergy and Naviland Cargo.