• Stay ahead of supply chain disruptions and port congestion with Kuehne+Nagel’s weekly port operational update.
• Find out the latest vessel waiting times and status of ports in Africa, Asia Oceania, Europe, Middle East-Indian Subcontinent, North America, and South and Central America.

Coordinated port industrial action planned for 30 October

Industrial action is planned for 30 October across more than 50 ports, involving unions and dockworkers in France, Greece, Spain, Turkey, Morocco and Italy, with support also reported in Germany, India, Mexico and the US. Major ports potentially affected include Hamburg, Genoa, Livorno, Gioia Tauro, Marseille, Piraeus, Tangier, Mersin and Veracruz. A 24-hour nationwide port strike is formally registered in Italy, while the operational impact elsewhere will vary between walkouts and demonstrations. Read more here 

Africa

Ghana
Tema: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 7.56 days. Delays are driven by high yard utilisation, reefer congestion, strong import demand and trucking shortages.

Ivory Coast
Abidjan: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 5.0 days. Delays continue, with high yard occupancy, equipment reliability issues and truck capacity shortages affecting cargo evacuation.

Kenya
Mombasa: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 3.0 days. High yard utilisation, empty-container imbalances, customs processing delays and low trucking productivity are affecting terminal efficiency and cargo release.

Mauritius
Port Louis: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 6.0 days. Further eastbound port omissions are planned through Week 48 due to ongoing Durban delays, aimed at protecting schedule reliability.

Mozambique
Beira: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 14.5 days. Conditions remain critical. Terminal recovery is ongoing, while intermittent wind gusts and rainfall may add further operational pressure.

South Africa
Durban: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 7.29 days. Severe congestion continues across the port. Delays range from 0–17 days depending on the terminal, with Pier 1 and DGT most affected by vessel bunching, berth congestion, equipment issues and ongoing DGT system stabilisation. DGT reports an average anchorage wait of 10.5 days and a backlog of around 30,000 container moves.

Asia Oceania

China
As of 26 October, authorities in Ningbo and Shanghai have ended their typhoon emergency responses. Terminals, container yards, warehouses and East China trucking services are fully operational, including Yangshan and Waigaoqiao. Regional barge terminals are also operating normally. This marks a clear improvement from the restrictions and disruption reported earlier during Super Typhoon Champi. Read more here

Qingdao: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1.42 days. Military exercises around the port from 15 October to 30 November may result in restrictions on vessels and terminal operations, adding further congestion risk.

Shanghai: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1.65 days. Delays occur, with severe cargo backlogs and congestion expected into November. Post-typhoon recovery, vessel bunching, blank sailings and severe capacity constraints on South Africa services continue to affect schedules.

Shekou: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1.34 days. Yard density exceeds 90%. Strong export demand, capacity constraints and schedule unreliability continue to place terminals under pressure.

Singapore
Singapore: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1.18 days. Port delays occur, with elevated vessel queues, high transhipment activity and high yard density affecting both terminal and CFS operations. Severe container transhipment delays are reported due to high volumes and unstable vessel schedules.

South Korea
Busan: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1.22 days. High yard occupancy, capacity constraints and unreliable vessel schedules continue to affect operations.

Taiwan
Kaohsiung: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1 day. Delays occur, with high yard density, capacity constraints and schedule unreliability. Cargo processing and customs operations were also disrupted by typhoon response measures.

Thailand
Laem Chabang: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1 day. Delays occur, with strong export demand, flood-related disruption in some areas, capacity constraints and vessel schedule unreliability.

Vietnam
Vung Tau: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1.5 days. Heavy berth congestion continues at GML with delays of up to four days for off-window vessels. Yard density remains above 90%, impacting terminal productivity despite ongoing congestion-mitigation measures.

Europe

Storm Austen caused significant disruption across north-western Europe. At Le Havre, TNMSC and Terminal de France/GMP suspended operations due to strong winds exceeding 100 km/h, with road access also affected. Rotterdam APM Terminals planned temporary waterside and landside suspensions over the weekend, with handling delays expected around the operating windows. Read more here 

Belgium
Antwerp: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1.31 days. Yard utilisation stands at 83% at Q869 and 85% at Q913, with average truck turnaround of around 45 minutes.

France
Le Havre: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 2.0 days. Potential 24-hour industrial action on 30 October has also been preannounced but remains subject to confirmation.

Germany
Bremerhaven: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1.09 days. Yard occupancy remains high at 90%, with capacity increasingly constrained, particularly for IMO and OOG cargo. The current vessel line-up remains on track. The port was impacted by a severe storm over the weekend. Although the storm is over, delays are still possible. During the storm, the departing TUI Cruises vessel collided with the berthed MSC Victorine, causing damage to both vessels but no injuries. The MSC Victorine is currently blocking one dock for inspections.

Hamburg: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1.11 days. Yard occupancy remains elevated at 80-83%, with a further peak expected over the weekend. Berthing delays, crane maintenance and labour constraints are affecting operations.

Wilhelmshaven: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1.75 days. Yard density has risen to 84%, mainly due to backlog and further late vessel arrivals. Staffing shortages and forecast high winds are limiting recovery, with delays remaining at 24-48 hours or more. Some relief is expected from CW44.

Italy
Genoa: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 2.5 days. Delays persist, with inland freight movements affected by transport disruption, resulting in trucking delays and schedule variability.

Netherlands
Rotterdam: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1.36 days. Conditions remain mixed across Rotterdam. Yard occupancy stands at 85% at ECT and 99% at MVII, while Delta II remains comparatively fluid at 29%. ECT is facing 12-72 hour barge and feeder delays, reefer plug constraints and reduced crane availability. The port experienced full closure from 23 to 25 October due to high winds and bad weather. The stoppage caused delays in vessel and cargo handling.

United Kingdom
London Gateway Port: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 3.0 days. Yard occupancy has increased to 77% dry and 59% reefer, with rising density, late vessel arrivals and changing priorities affecting the berth line-up.  Ongoing Berth 4 crane works continue to constrain operations. A 15-hour operational stoppage is planned for the TOS upgrade on 31 October. A derailment incident halted freight rail traffic impacting cargo movement to the port and the Port of Tilbury. Read more

Southampton: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 2.33 days. Yard occupancy is critical at 103% dry and 107% reefer, driven by prolonged dwell times. Berth windows and vessel calls are being adjusted to reduce congestion, with some high-density import calls asked to delay arrival.

Indian Subcontinent

India:
Potential operational disruption as Cyclone Arnab approaches India’s east coast, with landfall expected along the Andhra Pradesh coast near Yanam between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam. Heavy rainfall and sustained winds of 115–125 km/h, gusting up to 140 km/h, are forecast, with cyclone or storm warnings in place for all three ports. Read more here.

Sri Lanka
Colombo: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1.89 days. Delays continue due to ongoing transhipment congestion, missed feeder connections, vessel omissions and routing changes.

North America

Canada
Average rail dwell times:

• Halifax: 4
• Montreal: 6
• Prince Rupert: 6
• Saint John: 6
• Vancouver: 6

United States
Average rail dwell times:

• Halifax - 2 days
• Montreal - 6 days
• Prince Rupert - 6 days
• Saint-John - 8 days
• Vancouver - 5 days
• Baltimore - 6 days
• Charleston - 3 days
• Newark - 3 days
• Houston - 6 days
• Wilmington - 7 days
• Jacksonville - 8 days
• Los Angeles - 9 days
• Long Beach - 10 days
• Miami - 13 days
• Mobile - 2 days
• New York - 4 days
• New Orleans - 4 days
• Oakland - 7 days
• Norfolk - 4 days
• Port Everglades - 8 days
• Philadelphia - 3 days
• Savannah - 2 days
• Seattle - 5 days
• Tacoma - 5 days

New York: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1.08 days. Delays persist, with high import volumes, construction-related traffic constraints and increased drayage congestion during peak gate periods.

Savannah: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1.3 days. Delays persist, with chassis shortages, inland drayage pressure and peak-season trucking constraints.

South America

Brazil
Santos: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1.45 days. Delays continue, driven by high agricultural and container volumes, vessel bunching and inland transport capacity constraints.

How Kuehne+Nagel estimates port disruption statuses 

Seaexplorer has four port statuses that are estimated based mainly on the 7-day average vessel waiting time. Other factors include yard congestion, labour strikes, natural disasters or intermodal disruptions. Slightly different rules are applied to major ports, or ports that are hubs in their region, as they are typically more efficient. 

• Business as usual means the port is currently operating without any significant disruption.
• Slightly disrupted is used if the 7-day average vessel waiting time exceeds 2 days.
• Heavily disrupted is used if the 7-day average vessel waiting time exceeds 4 days.
• Port closed is used when the port suspends operations due to a major disruptive event.

How Kuehne+Nagel calculates the 7-day average vessel waiting time

Mainline container vessels may spend a certain number of days waiting at designated anchorage areas before their scheduled port call.

To calculate the 7-day average waiting time, we consider the waiting days of these vessels, excluding: 

• Waiting times for feeder vessels, 
• Idle ships without an announced next port, 
• Slow steamers heading toward the anchorage, but not actively waiting within the designated area
• Vessels passing through the anchorage area without intending to call at the port.

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