27 March 2024 (Lloyd's List) - CONTAINER lines have begun to reorganise port calls to the US east coast following the Dali (IMO: 9697428) casualty that has closed the port of Baltimore to all maritime traffic.
Maersk, which time-chartered the vessel that allided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge leading to its collapse into the Patapsco River, said that it would not be possible to reach the port of Baltimore “for the time being,” due to the damage to the bridge and resulting debris.
“In line with this, we are omitting Baltimore on all our services for the foreseeable future, until it is deemed safe for passage through this area,” Maersk said in a customer advisory.
“For cargo already on water, we will omit the port, and will discharge cargo set for Baltimore in nearby ports. From these ports, it will be possible to utilise landside transportation to reach final destination instead.”
Cargo set for discharge at Baltimore would face delays as it would need to discharge elsewhere, Maersk added.
Mediterranean Shipping Co confirmed that it also had cargo on Dali as part of its Empire service.
“We are expecting substantial delays to cargo aboard the vessel and currently standing on the quay in Baltimore,” it said.
“Further to the Port Authority’s closure of the port, we also have no choice but to omit Baltimore from all our services for the foreseeable future, until the passage to port is reopened and declared safe. We expect this to take several months and all MSC customer cargo will be rerouted and discharged at alternative ports in the meantime.”
Zim also had cargo on board as part of its Zim Big Apple service, which it shares with the 2M partners.
“As our partner is still assessing the situation, we expect to receive more information on the damage to the cargo onboard,” it said.
“We will be communicating to all impacted customers once we have more details. Until the passage is cleared and deemed safe, our ZBA, ZXB and XNS vessels will be omitting Baltimore. Alternative arrangements for your cargo on water will be communicated as soon as possible.”
With the casualty still in the search-and-recovery phase, it is too soon to tell how long the port will be out of operation.
“There is no indication from the port of Baltimore how long it will take to clear the bridge wreckage and reopen the channel,” Atlantic Container Line chief executive Andy Abbott told Lloyd’s List.
ACL, which uses the port, had no vessels inside when the bridge came down, nor were there any other containerships at berth.
“Baltimore is not a large container port,” Abbott said.
“Guys currently calling will have to revert to New York and Norfolk, with a little going to Philadelphia.
“Until further notice, as long as the channel remains closed, all container services for all carriers to/from Baltimore are suspended.”
ACL is rerouting cargo to New York and Norfolk, and Abbott said that if the closure continued for a protracted period it would add an alternative port to modify its schedules.
Carriers should have no difficulty finding space at neighbouring ports, however.
Vespucci Maritime chief executive Lars Jensen pointed out that Baltimore’s fourth-quarter 2023 volumes would represent a 10% increase in volumes at Norfolk and New York/New Jersey if there were redirected there.
“But in 2022 Norfolk handled 12% more volume than they did in 2023, and in 2022 New York/New Jersey handled 21% more volume than they did in 2023,” he said.
“Hence from this perspective it appears the Norfolk and New York/New Jersey combined does have sufficient capacity to take the spillover from Baltimore.”
There would, however, be some disruptive effects as any redirection was not pre-planned into the supply chains and hence some bottleneck effects and delays were to be anticipated in the short term.
“For Baltimore and immediate surrounding [area] the impact on supply chains will of course be extremely large,” Jensen said.
Baltimore serves as a “vital link” for raw materials and manufactured goods, helping trade into and out of Maryland, the mid-Atlantic region, and the Midwest US, according to Container xChange chief executive Christian Roeloffs.
“While the magnitude of the impact is yet to be determined, the disruption in traffic and operations at the port could lead to significant economic losses,” he said.
“As Baltimore is one of the smallest container ports on the northeastern seaboard, handling 265,000 containers in the fourth quarter of last year, the flow of containers may be redirected to larger ports such as the Port of New York/New Jersey.
“This redirection could result in increased congestion and delays at these ports, affecting the timely delivery of goods and potentially leading to inventory shortages.”
