Stay ahead of supply chain disruptions and port congestion with Kuehne+Nagel's weekly port operational update.
Middle East Africa
Ghana
Tema: Frequent power outages impact crane deployment, leading to extended average waiting times of around 3 days in Tema and Takoradi.
Saudi Arabia
Dammam: Yard congestion and lower productivity have increased waiting time to over 5 days in Dammam.
South Africa
Cape Town: Vessel waiting time has increased to 1.5 days this week due to equipment issues and dense fog.
Durban: Due to heavy winds and high swells, vessel waiting times have increased to above 10 days. Some carriers report waiting up to 13 days for a berth. Yard occupancy is currently manageable. At the time of publication, eight vessels were at anchor in Durban.
Asia Pacific
Bangladesh
Chittagong: The 7-day average vessel waiting time has increased to more than 3 days due to berth congestion. Congestion in Singapore and the recent national holiday have limited equipment availability in Bangladesh.
China
Shanghai-Ningbo: Vessel bunching and berth congestion persist in Shanghai and Ningbo, resulting in berthing delays of around 1.5 days. According to seaexplorer tracking data, 98 vessels are waiting within the Shanghai/Ningbo anchorage area.
Qingdao: An increase in vessel lineup and fog closures have increased waiting times to more than a day.
India
Ennore: The port faces heavy congestion. Some carriers are temporarily not accepting new bookings; others are accepting bookings based on equipment availability.
Kolkata: Due to the enormous backlog, most carriers have stopped accepting new bookings.
Mundra: The port is heavily congested, impacting terminal operations and the transport of containers between CFS and terminals.
Some carriers are skipping Mundra to maintain schedules. Rail freight to/from Mundra has now been extended from 7-9 days to 15-20 days.
Nhava Sheva: The monsoon season is interrupting port operations. At BMCT, vessels can wait 18-20 hours due to arriving off-window and low productivity at the port. A berth has been under construction at NSFT since 1 March, reducing the number of berths available and lowering overall productivity. The port does not allow for early container clearance, which, in the current situation, is causing delays.
Malaysia
Port Klang: The average waiting time has increased to more than 2 days. Carriers report high yard utilisation at Westport is lowering productivity. Vessels making ad hoc calls with heavy discharge volumes could wait 4+ days.
Tanjung Pelepas: The average vessel waiting time has increased to 1.3 days as berth congestion continues. See Singapore below.
Philippines
Manila: The average vessel waiting time has improved from 3 days to 2.5 days in Manila. At MICT, vessel bunching is causing berthing delays of 2-3 days. Twelve vessels were at anchor at the time of publication.
Singapore
Singapore: As shown above, vessel waiting times for mainliners decreased to around 1.3 days; however, berthing congestion continues. Vessels with a high discharge volume are required to wait 4 or more days. The port is still very highly utilised, which is reducing productivity. The cleanup operations after the oil spillage are complete. According to Sea Explorer, 35 vessels are in the anchorage area for Singapore and Tanjung Pelepas.
Sri Lanka
Colombo: The average vessel waiting time for mainliners has increased this week. CICT is heavily congested due to the increase in the number of ships calling Colombo. High yard utilisation, weather issues, and inter-terminal delays are reducing productivity. Transhipments face extended delays in Colombo.
Europe
Belgium
Antwerp: An increase in the lineup at anchorage is delaying ETA/ETD by +/—5 days. This situation is a cascading effect of the oil spill during week 25 and ongoing road works close to the port. At publication, Seaexplorer showed 18 vessels waiting in the Antwerp/Rotterdam anchorage area.
France
Le Havre: Since the beginning of this week, vessel waiting time has improved to 1.6 days. Yard capacity is around 50%.
Germany
Hamburg: Container yards at terminals are highly utilised, causing delays in cargo operations. Booking slots for trucks are limited, and truckers face delays in some terminals when picking up or delivering.
Italy
Civil works on several rail connections in Italy are planned for August. The works will result in temporary closures of some intermodal connections to/from the following ports and internal junctions:
- Trieste: The rail connection will be closed between the 15 and 19 August
- Milano Segrate: The rail connection will be closed between the 10 and 26 August
- Milano ↔ Bologna: The rail connection will be closed between 12 and 19 August. Circulation will be allowed only during night hours.
- Verona ↔ Vicenza: The rail connection will be closed between 12 and 19 August
- Bologna ↔ Firenze: The rail connection will be closed between 9 June and 9 September
Container transport by rail to and from the ports mentioned above is expected to experience delays during the closure periods. Read more
In addition, a transport union workers' strike will take place in Italy in week 27. Delays and disruptions are highly likely. Read more
Malta
Marsaxlokk: Due to increased calls, carriers report high yard density and berth utilisation.
Netherlands
Rotterdam: The 7-day average vessel waiting time has increased to almost 2 days this week. Yard capacity is around 90%, and berths are entirely utilised. At the time of publication, 18 vessels were waiting in the Antwerp/Rotterdam anchorage area.
Spain
Barcelona: The 7-day average vessel waiting time has recovered slightly this week after last week's public holiday closure. Due to the increase in transhipment cargo, congestion is high at the port, delaying the vessel lineup and cargo operations.
The railway network in Catalonia will be under construction from the end of June to mid-September 2024. From the end of August to mid-September, rail traffic entering and leaving the port of Barcelona will be completely interrupted.
North America
Canada
Current rail dwell times at Canadian ports are as follows:
- Vancouver: 9 days
- Prince Rupert: 7 days
- Montreal: 6 days
- Halifax: 1 day
USA
Charleston: The vessel waiting time has improved significantly this week, as shown in the table above.
The port has suspended construction at Wando Welch from 3-14 July. This will allow all three berths to reopen for ships, reducing the waiting time and vessel lineup.
The port authority expects vessels to berth on arrival from mid-July. However, when work at Wando Welch resumes in August, waiting times will increase to around 2 days.
On another positive note, the South Carolina Ports and International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) reached an operation agreement to reopen the Hugh Leatherman Terminal in August/September 2024. The first phase of the terminal contributes 700,000 TEU to the port's annual handling capacity. Once completed, the terminal could handle 2.4 million TEU annually.
New York/New Jersey: Trucking companies report the following port operational challenges. The situation is expected to continue into the near future:
- Daily empty container diversions and restrictions resulted in a significant reduction in driver productivity.
- Terminal Appointment Systems issues that lead to long lines, driver delays, and decreased productivity.
- Long Queues: Drivers must queue outside the terminal, sometimes extending for several miles.
South and Central America
Several ports in the Caribbean and Mexico were closed on 2 July due to severe Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Chris. Read more
Brazil
Manaus: Maersk expects a severe drought during the dry season in the Amazon Region. The drought may increase the transit time of its service and reduce the capacity of vessels calling Manaus. The carrier recommends that customers reduce the number of containers per booking/shipping instruction and plan shipments ahead of time during the season.
Navegantes: The average vessel waiting time has risen to almost 5 days this week. Carriers report some waiting between 8-14 days. The port is currently under construction, which is causing these delays. In addition, high swells limit the movement of ships in and out of Navegantes, adding to arrival and departure delays.
Paranagua: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 2 days. Vessels out of berth window wait on average 5-7 days due to vessel bunching caused by high yard density and low productivity.
Santos: Late vessels face waiting times of 1-5 days in Santos.
Panama
Cristobel/Manzanillo/Balbao/Rodman: Kuehne+Nagel reports transhipment delays at these ports due to the ripple effects of congestion upstream resulting from the Red Sea situation and the impact of strikes in Chile. In addition, port workers are not working extra hours, and yard density is high, impacting port productivity. The average waiting time is around 5 days in Cristobel, 1 day in Manzanillo, 1.75 days in Balboa and 0 days in Rodman this week.
Stay Ahead Stay Informed: Register for seaexplorer for the latest disruptions and vessel waiting times at global container ports.
Find our previous week's report here: Port operational updates from around the world (20 - 26 June)
