by Priya Radünzel, SeaNewsEditor
Stay ahead of supply chain disruptions and port congestion with Kuehne+Nagel’s weekly port operational update.
Middle East Africa
Algeria
Algiers: The port is heavily congested. Some vessels can wait up to 13 days. Seven ships were at anchor at the time of publishing.
Oran: Carriers report heavy congestion in Oran. The average vessel waiting time is around 4.25 days.
Benin
Cotonou: Berth congestion and a crane arrival are causing delays at the port. Currently, one vessel is waiting at the anchorage.
Cameroon
Douala: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 3.33 days. The MSC Panaya is the only ship at anchor at the time of publishing.
Kribi: The terminal is experiencing high yard congestion, with the Transbo yard at 102% and the Import yard at 88%,
Egypt
El Iskandariya (Alexandria): Off-window arrivals wait 24-48 hours for a berth. Yard utilisation is at 93% at Alexandria old terminal. and 94% at Alexandria El Dekheila.
Port Said: The average vessel waiting time is around 3 days. Four ships were waiting for a berth at the time of publishing.
Gambia
Banjul: The port is experiencing severe congestion and equipment issues. With berthing windows suspended, vessels berth on arrival. The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 12 days.
Ivory Coast
Abidjan: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 2.25 days. At the time of publishing, two ships were in the anchorage area.
Mozambique
Beira: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 5.5 days due to crane issues.
South Africa
Cape Town: One gantry crane is out for maintenance. Due to inclement weather, some vessels can wait 3-6 days.
Durban: High swells and wind caused disruptions at the beginning of week 40. Two gantry cranes are out of commission.
Port Elizabeth: The average waiting time is 3 days, with a minimum of 2 days and a maximum of 5 days delay due to inclement weather conditions.
Tanzania
Dar Es Salam: The 7-day average vessel waiting time decreased to around 5.5 days. The high overall yard density (62%) impacts yard, gate, and vessel productivity.
Saudi Arabia
Dammam: Due to vessel bunching, yard and quayside utilisation have increased, impacting overall performance at both terminals. Three ships are currently waiting for a berth.
UAE
Jebel Ali: Waiting time is expected to increase again due to vessel bunching. Crane maintenance will cause additional delays.
Asia Pacific
China
Chinese Golden Week holidays ended yesterday, 7 October. Carriers report signification port congestion in Ningbo and Shanghai, which could improve this week when workers return.
New Zealand
Tauranga: The Port of Tauranga expects wind gusts on Thursday, 9 October, which can disrupt operations. The port estimates 59% of vessels will arrive off-window this week, but these are unlikely to disrupt on-window calls. Crane 2 demolition started this week, reducing the useable quay length and yard capacity. The 7-day average vessel waiting time is 2 days.
In addition, the MetroPort delivery schedule has been extended because of multiple off-schedule arrivals and disruptions at other hub ports, leading to an unexpected rise in import volumes for some services. Additionally, a KiwiRail line block is planned for Labour weekend, which is expected to reduce MetroPort services.
Philippines
Manila: Due to adverse weather, heavy port congestion continues this week at Manila North and South terminals. In Manila North (MICT), heavy berth congestion persists, with waiting times of approximately 3+ days for off-window vessels. Similar conditions prevail in Manila South (ATI), with heavy berth congestion and an average vessel waiting time of around 4.22 days. Seaexplorer shows 22 vessels at anchor and an average vessel waiting time of 4 days for both terminals.
Sri Lanka
Colombo: The yard density at CICT is 98%. Due to high yard utilisation and ITT congestion, berthing delays for out-of-window vessels are approximately 3 to 4 days.
Europe
Germany
Hamburg: Yard utilisation is at 112%, with back-to-back vessel arrivals until mid-October. Continued labour shortages are limiting gang allocations, and yard congestion is negatively impacting productivity. Empty stocks have increased, exceeding the free pool level.
Netherlands
Rotterdam: According to seaexplorer, berthing congestion is high in the Antwerp-Rotterdam area, with 14 vessels at anchor. Yards are between 60-75% utilised.
An IT outage on 9 October at MPET terminals (K1742 and K1718), Europa Terminal (K869), and North Sea Terminal (K913) caused slight delays to pick-up activities.
Spain
Algeciras: Yard occupancy is approaching 90%. Reefer plug utilisation is high. Currently, three vessels are at anchor.
Barcelona: Congestion has eased in recent days as some of the volumes have been shipped back to Valencia, and labour shortages have eased.
Valencia: Berthing congestion continues with high call volumes and move counts. Seaexplorer shows six vessels at Valencia anchorage at the time of publishing.
Romania
Constanta: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 6.67 days.
A bridge crane upgrade at CSCT Terminal is causing congestion and delays, resulting in carriers changing port rotations or vessel calls. The delays are also impacting neighbouring terminals. The situation is expected to continue until the upgrade is completed. Empty containers are discharged only by prior agreement; prompt evacuation is required until yard occupancy drops below 60%. The yard density is around 77%.
UK
Felixstowe, London Gateway, and Southampton report high empty stock levels. If the stock levels do not reduce, Hutchison Ports Felixstowe may start refusing returns. In Southampton, hauliers face limited VBS slots. Empty containers may be diverted if not cleared.
North America
Canada
Montreal: The St. Lawrence River’s low water levels are disrupting container vessel traffic, impacting cargo transport to and from the Port of Montreal.
In addition, Montreal port dockworkers will halt all overtime work starting Thursday as a pressure tactic in contract negotiations. This follows a three-day strike last week at key terminals, part of broader supply chain disruptions.
Average rail dwell:
Montreal: 9 days
Prince Rupert: 10 days
Vancouver: 10 days
USA
The ILA dock worker strike that shut down US East Coast ports on 1 October ended after three days of protest. A tentative agreement extends the current contract until 15 January. Ports resumed operations by the end of last week, working quickly through the vessel backlog. Seaexplorer shows that most vessels currently waiting outside US East Coast ports arrived after the strike ended.
Kuehne+Nagel expects the normalisation of operations to take 2-3 weeks. During this period, delays and congestion at terminals are expected, especially for container pick-ups and drop-offs. Our latest advisory can be found here.
Hurricane Milton, which formed over the Gulf of Mexico, is expected to hit near Tampa, Florida, on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasts major hurricane conditions, including storm surges and damaging winds, but notes significant uncertainty about the storm’s track and intensity. The ports affected by the storm are Tampa, Miami, Jacksonville and Port Everglades.
On Tuesday, 8 October, the US Coast Guard raised Port Condition Yankee in place for Port Tampa Bay, Port Everglades and the Port of Miami. This requires vessels to seek shelter and operations that do not involve storm preparation to cease. Read more
South and Central America
Brazil
Navegantes: High swells and ongoing severe weather can cause waiting times of up to 14 days.
Mexico
Lazaro Cardenas: The yard occupancy is 86%. The lineup is congested, with up to 7 days of waiting time for vessels arriving off-window. Between 25 and 29 September, the port was closed due to Hurricane John.
Manzanillo: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 3 days. Yard occupancy is at 100%.
Last week's port update can be found here.
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