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 Africa, Asia Oceania, Europe, Middle East-Indian Subcontinent, North America, and South and Central America.
Africa
Algeria
Algerian ports continue to experience heavy congestion. In Algiers, waiting times have improved from 7 days last week to 5 days this week. To alleviate congestion, the port authority is diverting vessels to Djen-Djen.
At Djen-Djen, the average waiting time for vessels is 3 days, although ships can wait up to 14 days for a berth. Bejaia faces similar conditions. In Skikda, congestion leads to waiting times of up to 8 days.
In Oran, waiting times have improved to 3 days.
East Africa
Carriers report that services to East African ports continue to experience congestion delays. Export scheduling to the region is currently irregular, resulting in multiple changes to published schedules.
South Africa
Cape Town: Strong winds keep the average waiting times above 8 days. Delays at CTCT can be up to 10 days. At MPT, no delays have been reported.
Durban: There were no wind delays last week, and port waiting times are stable at around 1 day. At Pier 1, ships can face up to 2 days delay. No delays have been reported at Pier 2. At Durban Point, vessels can wait up to 3 days. Due to high volumes at the port, truck appointments are limited.
Asia Oceania
Australia
Patrick Terminals and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) have reached a historic roll-over salary agreement, extending until 31 December 2028. The negotiations were completed well ahead of the current contract's expiry date of 31 December 2025.
With these enterprise agreements secured for the coming years, Australia's two largest terminal operators, Patrick and DP World, are better equipped to avert potential industrial action upon the expiration of current agreements.
China
Vessel waiting times at North China ports remain elevated due to port congestion and fog closures. In Qingdao, dredging will reduce berth availability until the end of April.
The number of waiting vessels in the Shanghai-Ningbo area has improved to 157, compared to 161 last week. The number of waiting vessels outside Qingdao has dropped to 17 this week from last week's 24.
New Zealand
Auckland: The Port of Auckland will update its N4 Terminal Operating System this weekend and will temporarily close the terminal from Friday, 11 April, to Sunday, 13 April. Receival and Delivery operations will be suspended from 15:00 on Friday, 11 April. No new vessel operations will take place from 07:00 on Friday, 11 April. Full operations are expected to resume at 15:00 on Sunday, 13 April. Demurrage and export storage charges will be suspended during the days of closure.
Tauranga: Winds halted port operations for 12 hours last week, reducing the buffer for the vessel lineup. Yard utilisation is near full capacity for both dry and reefer containers, and the port cannot accommodate early acceptance. The majority of vessels are leaving and departing off-window.
Malaysia/Singapore
Carriers report heavy congestion in Port Klang, which has resulted in services temporarily being diverted to Singapore.The congestion in Singapore may increase in the coming weeks. The 7-day average waiting time is around 2 days in Port Klang.
Europe
Belgium
Antwerp:
- PSA: Yards are overcapacity for reefers and empty containers and at critical levels for dry containers. Vessel productivity remains under par, and vessel backlog from the strike has led to heavy delays. To reduce the pressure on the yards, the terminal is not accepting empty containers and has reduced the yard opening times from 7 to 5 days. At situation is likely to persist until late April. Read more
- AGW: Last week's strike also delayed the vessel line-up at AGW. Yard utilisation is stable.
Germany:
Hamburg: The introduction of limited gate-in windows for export cargo has alleviated yard congestion at several terminals. No issues have been reported with regard to vessel operations productivity. Lineups remain full, and labour is sufficient.
River Rhine: Water levels remain low at all three measuring points: Kaub, Koln, and Duisburg Ruhrort. As a result, barge capacity will be limited to/from several terminals. Feeder services between Antwerp and Rotterdam are not affected.
Italy
Italian labour unions plan strikes in April and May, potentially disrupting rail cargo and Genoa Port operations.
- 11 April - 24-hour strike: Genoa port operators expect this to impact port operations, including gate access and container transport to and from the port.
- 5 May 21:00 - 6 May 21:00: Rail operations will be halted during this period
Netherlands
Rotterdam
- ECT: Yard utilisation and labour availability have improved. Delays to feeders are between 48 and 72 hours, and barges are delayed by 24-48 hours. According to carriers, the ongoing phase in/out of vessels is adding pressure to terminal operations. New gantry cranes delivered on 4 April will occupy a feeder berth until the end of April, adding to delays.
- DELTA II: The port is challenged by gang availability to handle multiple services, which limits its flexibility to accommodate additional calls.
- RWG: Yard utilisation has reduced to 76%, the lineup is fully occupied, and labour is stable.
- MVII: No operational challenges.
United Kingdom
London Gateway: The 7-day average vessel waiting time has increased to around 2.4 days this week. The yard utilisation has increased to 78%, and reefer utilisation has decreased to 67%, with a high empty stock. The ongoing 10-year crane maintenance continues. The number of services calling the port has increased, some without berthing windows. The lineup faces challenges with phase-in and phase-out calls. In addition, the terminal has reduced the number of transhipment moves.
Middle East - Indian Subcontinent
Bangladesh
Chittagong (Chattogram): Congestion has increased at both the berth and yard (80%). Due to a national holiday, import deliveries were limited, and vessel operations productivity was low, resulting in longer port stays. The congestion is expected to ease in the next weeks. The average waiting time for geared vessels is around 5 days, and for gearless vessels, it is 4 days. Seaexplorer shows 13 vessels were waiting at anchor at the time of publishing.
Dhaka Kamalapur(ICD): Due to a train shortage, the dwell time for imports is currently 10-12 days for 20ft containers and 2-3 days for 40ft containers.
North America
Canada
Average import rail dwell time for Canadian cargo (Vessel arrival to departure rail ramp):
- Halifax: 8 days
- Montreal: 10 days
- Prince Rupert: 13 days
- Saint John: 7 days
- Vancouver: 13 days
Vancouver: The average vessel waiting time has increased to around 7.5 days this week due to heavy congestion. Rail container dwell times remain high due to severe winter weather and a backlog from longshore labour disruptions in late 2024. Although the average dwell time decreased slightly in March, it remains above the manageable threshold. Improvements are expected as weather conditions stabilise and rail operations return to normal by mid to late spring.
Mexico
In Mexico, intermodal remains a challenge and bookings need to be made well in advance. For more details on the individual port requirements, please refer to our seaexplorer alert map.
United States
Average import rail dwell and transit time for US cargo (Vessel discharge to destination ramp):
- Montreal: 6 days
- Vancouver: 12 days
- Charleston: 7 days
- Houston: 12 days
- Los Angeles: 12 days
- Long Beach: 11 days
- New York: 7 days
- Norfolk: 7 days
- Savannah: 5 days
Savannah: The number of waiting vessels has risen to 16 this week, with the average waiting time now exceeding 3 days.
South and Central America
Guatemala
Increased import and export volumes continue to significantly affect operational conditions at the Atlantic ports. Congestion and slow operations at Santo Tomas de Castilla and Puerto Barrios have delayed vessel departures and subsequent arrivals at other ports.
The situation has also disrupted inland transportation, with restricted entry for export equipment due to capacity limitations and slow retrieval of import containers. These delays are expected to persist in the coming weeks.
Panama
Kuehne+Nagel sources report optimal port conditions at the ports of Cristobal and Balboa after weeks of congestion, which have caused extended delays to shipments.
Manzanillo: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1 day. Yard density is around 80%. The port continues to work through the backlog of cargo.
Rodman: The container yard is highly utilised. Due to congestion, transhipment cargo faces delays.
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.
This rolling average is based on the data from the last seven days and is updated daily in seaexplorer.
To find the latest waiting time for a port, enter the port name or code in the search bar and select the relevant option.
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