by Priya Radünzel, SeaNewsEditor

• 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 Middle East Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and South and Central America. 

Asia Pacific

China

Seasonal strong winds resulted in operational stops and berthing congestion in China last week. At the time of publishing, 123 vessels (106 vessels the previous week) were at anchor in the Shanghai-Ningbo waiting area and 24 outside Qingdao.

New Zealand

Tauranga: For vessels arriving off-window, delays are up to 2 days or moved back to the next week's window. Yard utilisation is at 81%. 

Philippines

Manila: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 3 days due to heavy berth congestion. At the time of publishing, 29 vessels were in the Manila anchorage area. 

South Korea

Busan: Numerous vessels are experiencing delays at previous ports, leading to vessel bunching. The overall situation and congestion are anticipated to deteriorate during week 49, with vessel waiting times potentially increasing to up to 2 days.

Europe

Seasonal weather, including strong winds, has disrupted operations at key European ports, increasing the number of vessels at anchorage. Seaexplorer shows 22 vessels in the Antwerp-Rotterdam area, up from 16 last week. In Antwerp, a gateway expansion project is straining yard capacity.

German ports face labour pressures and heavy yard congestion, causing delays. In Hamburg, rail delays from last week's lightning strike and a recent collision are further straining the network. Read more

Georgia

Poti: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 5 days. Protests taking place outside the port gate have caused some traffic flow issues. However, trucks are being rerouted to alternate gates, resulting in minor delays. Port operations are normal.

Italy

Labour union USB has announced a new national strike for 13 December. Container terminals PSA Genoa Pra and PSA Sech Terminals have indicated that there may be an undefined impact on operations.

In addition to the transportation workers' planned strikes in December, Kuehne+Nagel reports that train services to and from Genova Voltri (PSA Genoa Prà) will be suspended on 2, 7, 11, and 12 January. Read more

Spain

Algeciras: Yard occupancy is around 90%. High volumes and bunching of mainliner calls are causing delays to subsequent arrivals. Waiting times are being incurred, especially on feeder services.

Turkey

Mersin: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1.88 days. Vessels arriving off-window can wait up to 3 days.

United Kingdom

Felixstowe: Severe weather and a high yard density are causing berthing delays at the port. Some carriers are diverting vessels to other UK ports to avoid schedule disruptions. The port may close landside operations on 5 and 6 December, forecasting high winds. 

Liverpool: High winds are expected to impact the container terminals from 5 December. Based on the wind speed and direction, the port forecasts that full stops are highly likely from the night of 4 December through to the morning of 5 December.

Middle East Africa

Algeria

Algiers: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 3 days; however, some vessels can wait up to 12 days.

Egypt

Damietta: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 2.67 days. Due to bad weather, further berth delays are expected in November and December 2024.

El Iskandariya (Alexandria): At Alexandria's old terminal, yard utilisation is 94% in Alexandria old terminal. Delays and disruptions due to severe weather are anticipated for December. Berth congestion is expected to cause 24-48 hours delays in the old terminal for off-window vessels.

Gabon

Libreville: The terminal and yard are congested, with a 2-day delay before operations begin. The OCT (AGL) terminal lacks sufficient labour. The import full yard occupancy is at 99%.

Ivory Coast

Abidjan: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 3 days.

Kenya

Mombasa: The port is currently facing significant congestion, with an average 7-day vessel waiting time of about 2.9 days. Berthing delays are expected this week. From December to January, seasonal holidays and leave will likely cause further delays and labour shortages, potentially extending delays up to 4 days. Ten vessels were at anchor at the time of publishing.

Mauritania

Nouadhibou: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is 6 days. 

Mauritius

Port Louis: The port is experiencing significant cargo delays because of infrastructure problems affecting productivity.

Mozambique

Another round of protests was announced from 7 to 11 December. During this time, cargo movement and operations at airports, ports, and borders will likely be severely affected. Vehicle movements will halt from 08:00 to 15:30 local time, with demonstrations from 21:00 to 22:00. Consequently, container deliveries and pickups at port terminals will face delays.

Beira: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 4.5 days due to a recurring series of protests.

South Africa

Durban: Vessel delays can be up to 12 days at Pier 1 and 24 days at Pier 2. Delays are due to crane and equipment breakdowns. Some carriers report vessel waiting times of up to 40 days.

Tanzania

Dar Es Salaam: The average 7-day vessel waiting time is around 3.13 days due to vessel bunching and only one berth available. Two additional STS cranes will be delivered by Q4 for assembly/commissioning by Q2-2025. Five vessels were waiting for a berth at the time of publishing.

Gambia

Banjul: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 18.75 days. The port is experiencing severe congestion and works on a FIFO basis, with no berthing windows. The port is prioritising cruise ships. Two vessels were at anchor at the time of publishing.

North America

Canada

Vessel waiting times remain elevated at Canadian ports after recent strike action. In Halifax, terminal utilisation is at 98% due to Montreal overflow. 

Average rail dwell times for Canadian cargo: 

• Halifax: 14 days

• Montreal: 14 days

• Prince Rupert: 10 days

• Vancouver: 13 days

United States

Average import rail dwell times for US cargo :

• Montreal: 12 days
• Prince Rupert: 7 days
• Vancouver: 7 days
• Charleston: 4 days
• Houston: 6 days
• Los Angeles: 7 days
• Long Beach: 7 days
• New York: 4 days
• Norfolk: 2 days
• Savannah: 1 day

South and Central America

Brazil

Brazilan customs auditors began an indefinite nationwide strike on 26 November. The action delays customs clearance, interrupts audits and inspections, and impacts operational schedules. As part of the strike, customs operations will prioritise the release of essential cargo while reducing the pace of administrative activities. A backlog of freight has been queued for process after the strike ends. Read more

Itapoa: Vessels arriving off-window can wait up to 5 days for a berth.

Navegantes: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 2.33 days, but some vessels can wait up to 10 days. 

Paranagua: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1 day. Vessels arriving off-window can wait up to 5 days for a berth.

Pecem: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 5.5 days. 

Rio de Janeiro: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 3.11 days due to channel limitations caused by adverse sea conditions.  

Santos: The port currently operates with only two piers; however, it is working to limit vessel schedule delays. The port will not accept extra calls or transhipment volumes during this period.

Costa Rica

Caldera: Yard occupancy is 95%. Imports are sent to authorised private yards, except for full reefers and dangerous goods. In addition, gate-in for empties is strictly regulated.

Dominican Republic

Caucedo: The terminal continues to deal with high local volumes and empties for the Christmas season. Yard occupancy is above 80%. The breakwater berth is currently not used for vessel operations due to the critical situation with high occupancy. DPW and DR Customs will extend local dispatches on the weekend, starting 1 December. Monday-Saturday from 06:00 to midnight and Sunday from 07:00 to 17:00.

El Salvador

Acajutla: Docks A-1 and A-2 are undergoing repairs and maintenance, and a dock crane is also out of service. These constraints are causing significant delays for vessels before they can commence operations. Additionally, yard congestion and a truck shortage have led to low trucker availability, with an average wait time of 3-4 days. Container pickup from the port is subject to trucking slot availability, and some carriers are reporting shortages of dry containers.

Mexico

Lazaro Cardenas: The yard occupancy is 83%. The berthing lineup is congested, with vessels arriving off-window waiting up to 2 days. 

Nicaragua

Corinto: The port is highly congested at around 94%.

How does Kuehne+Nagel calculate the average vessel waiting time?

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

We calculate the average waiting time based on these days, 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 and
• vessels passing through the anchorage area without intending to call at the port 

Stay Ahead, Stay Informed: Register for seaexplorer for the latest disruptions and vessel waiting times at global container ports.