18 June 2024 (Lloyd's List) - THE container port congestion that has to date largely been focused in Asia and the western Mediterranean has begun to spread to northern Europe, with fears that strikes in Germany will exacerbate the situation.
“Global port congestion continued to rise over the past week, with over 2.4m teu of vessel capacity waiting at anchorages as at 16 June, of which 60% is in Asia,” said analysts at Linerlytica.
Heavy congestion remained in Singapore, with average waiting times down slightly because more vessels were omitting calls at the port, Linerlytica added.
“Overall congestion is at an 18-month high, with a further escalation expected following the declaration of an unannounced strike action at German ports on June 17 that will affect ships calling at Hamburg and Bremerhaven.”
Germany’s United Services Union (Ver.di) called for the wildcat strike action that affected Hamburg, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Brake and Emden.
It argued that the Central Association of German Seaport Operators did not submit a negotiable offer in the second round of negotiations on June 6 and that the strike increases the pressure on the employers to submit a negotiable offer in the third round taking place this week.
Ver.di is calling for higher wages and shift allowances for its members.
Linerlytica said the action would affect more than 50 containerships with a total capacity of 3m teu that are scheduled to call at German ports in the coming week.
Carriers have warned that this is likely to have a knock-on effect on other ports in the region, too.
Data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence shows nine boxships waiting at the Elbe anchorage destined for either Hamburg or Bremerhaven. But there are another 11 vessels at anchor off Rotterdam, and five at Sunk Deep, waiting for calls at either Felixstowe or London Gateway.
“This will have widespread implications on our network, with multiple vessels already planned to be worked,” Maersk said in customer advisory.
“With current outlook on the vessels, we do expect a knock-on effect for all vessels. Consequently, this will cause further delays.”
This was also likely to further compromise schedules, as vessels returning to Asia will now be delayed, further reducing available slots on head-haul routes.
“Congestion at European ports has already started to pick up in recent weeks, with delays seen at Rotterdam, Antwerp and Southampton, as well as in Germany and the situation is expected to worsen further,” Linerlytica said.
