Waiting Time Declines at German Ports An overview of the average vessel waiting time at the ports of Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven over the past 28 days shows a decline by around 3 days, according to Kuehne + Nagel data. From 20 to 27 August, the average waiting time at these ports was approximately 7 days. But when taking the average time for the past 28 days, we see that it declined to reach almost 4.3 days on 18 September. Industry analysts attribute the relatively high waiting time during the last 10 days of August to the port strike in UK’s Felixstowe Port from 21 to 28 August. As strikes in Felixstowe Port renew starting 27 September, we might see a light increase in the waiting times from that date up to the first few days of October. Regarding the number of vessels, approximately 30 vessels anchored outside the North Sea ports of Germany on 24 August carrying a capacity of over 240,000 TEU. However, data from 16 September show a significant decline, where only 9 vessels were waiting to berth carrying about 66,000 TEU. A deeper inspection of the relationship between a vessel’s size and the time it has to wait shows an interesting correlation, says Portcast, a Singapore-based port technology and data provider. Portcast found that the larger the vessel, the longer it has to wait. “Vessels with higher TEU capacity are likely to spend 4 times longer than their counterparts waiting for berthing allocation,” Portcast reported. UK's New Strikes Could Effect Germany's Progress While the labour agreements in Germany create slow but positive stability in its ports, Europe’s northern region is bracing for new industrial movements in the UK. Maersk recently informed its customers about its plans to take contingency measures concerning shipments scheduled to call the Port of Felixstowe. “To maximise available labour immediately before and after the strike, a number of vessel ETAs have been advanced or delayed,” reported the Danish carrier. In addition, the container carrier plans to divert at least one of its vessels to London Gateway Port. The planned Felixstowe strike will take place from 27 September to 5 October, and will overlap with another strike at the Port of Liverpool from 19 September to 3 October. In its most recent operational update, Hapag Lloyd announced “the [Felixstowe Port] terminal is trying to work through the backlog as fast as possible." It remains unknown if the North Sea ports, such as Rotterdam and Hamburg, will receive shipments originally scheduled for the UK ports. However, judging from the situation one month ago, it is safe to say that the ports are likely to feel the ripple effect of the British dockworkers’ industrial action. Sources: Kuehne + Nagel, Seatrade Maritime News, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd