Kuehne+Nagel aims to provide the most up-to-date port operational information so you can make more informed decisions for your cargo.
Follow our weekly port updates for more information on the impact of the Red Sea situation on cargo operations.
Africa
Djibouti
Djibouti: Due to the situation in and around the Red Sea, carriers are adjusting their offerings to Djibouti. Maersk announced a temporary booking suspension to and from Asia, the Middle East, Oceania, East Africa and South Africa to Djibouti on its Blue Nile Express service.
Cameroon
Douala: The 7-day average vessel waiting time has deteriorated again this week to around 7 days. There are currently 6 vessels waiting at anchorage in Cameroon. Import yard utilisation is high.
Congo
Pointe Noire: Increased congestion at the port has impacted the vessel lineup. The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 4 days. There are currently 8 vessels waiting to berth.
South Africa
Cape Town: The 7-day average vessel waiting time has increased to 7 days this week. Ships can wait up to 10 days to call the Cape Town Multi-Purpose Terminal. There are currently 4 vessels at anchor. Strong winds and equipment issues are hampering port productivity.
Durban: Equipment challenges and weather issues result in lower productivity across all terminals. The 7-day average vessel waiting time has improved slightly to under 7 days. However, carriers are reporting up to 20 days at Pier 2 for some vessels. There are currently 10 vessels waiting for a berth.
Tanzania
Dar Es Salaam: The 7-day average vessel waiting time remains high this week at around 13 days. The port is heavily disrupted due to vessel bunching, yard congestion and power outages. There are currently 15 vessels waiting at anchor.
Asia
China
Shanghai Central Meteorological Observatory updated its warning signal to orange today as heavy fog is expected for 12 hours, reducing visibility in some areas to less than 200 metres. Shanghai and other ports in the area suspended shipping operations late yesterday. Shipping will resume once the weather improves. Read our Sea News article for more details.
Snow and freezing rain have closed roads in several Chinese provinces. This is expected to continue for the next several days.
Europe
Farmers' protests in France, Italy, Belgium and Germany blocked key roads and disrupted the flow of traffic this week. In Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven, farmers blocked access to the ports delaying container pick-ups and delivery. Similarly, farmers announced their intention to block access to Zeebrugge in Belgium.
Finnland
Two Finnish trade unions will hold strikes on 1 and 2 February. The strike will interrupt the loading and unloading of vessels in Finnish ports from 6:00 am on 1 February until 6:00 am on 3 February.
In addition, containers cannot be picked up or delivered to the ports during the strike.
France
Port workers begin strikes against pension reforms at French ports next week as follows :
- 5 February - 4 hours of operational stoppage
- 7 February - 24 hours of stoppage
- 9 February - 4 hours of stoppage
North America
Central and Latin America
Brazil
Navegantes: Civil works, including pier infrastructure, are causing some operational issues at the port. This has increased vessel waiting times, causing congestion and some challenges at Navegantes in neighbouring ports, Itapoa and Paranagua. MSC has announced it will blank eight consecutive sailings on its Gulf to SAEC String 1 service, beginning with the GSL ARCADIA 408R.
Panama
Panama Canal: The canal authority reduced the number of vessel transits to 24 per day on 16 January. No further reductions are expected in February. Non-booked vessels are waiting 4-8 days. The number of container vessels transiting the canal has increased to above 30% in the last few months.
Oceania
Australia
In the ongoing contract negotiations, no agreement has yet been reached between DP World and the Maritime Union of Australia (MAU). The union has extended its strike action to 10 February. Details on the strike can be found here. In early October last year, the MAU began strikes and bans on operations after negotiations with the port operator for a new enterprise bargaining agreement failed.
