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
Algiers
Terminals remain heavily congested, and the Ministry of Transport issues vessel diversions on short notice. This means containers are often discharged at alternative ports instead of their original destination.
This congestion is also having a knock-on effect at transhipment hubs such as Valencia, causing delays in transhipments. Shipping lines are looking at alternatives to mitigate delays and avoid bottlenecks.
Waiting times at Algiers, Annaba, Bejaia, and Mostaganem are between 3.5 and 4.5 days. In Oran, vessels wait an average of 2 days, while in Skikda, they wait 5 days.
Ghana
Tema: The bunching of off-window vessels is increasing berth waiting times.
Libiya
Tripoli: Hapag-Lloyd has announced a service stop to Tripoli. Other carriers continue to serve this port, but operations remain unstable.
South Africa
Cape Town: Vessel berth delays may vary per the service. Windy weather may disrupt port operations. At CTCT, some services wait up to 6 days for a berth.
Durban: At Pier 2, vessels can wait up to 2 days. At the other terminals, there is no waiting time.
Port Elizabeth: PECT and NCT are operating normally. Wind may also interrupt operations intermittently. Some carrier services can wait up to 2 days for a berth.
Tanzania
Dar Es Salaam: Service providers report road and gate congestion, which is resulting in extended container movement delays. The Adani terminal is undergoing maintenance works.
Asia Oceania
China
Northern Chinese ports closed for 10 to 26 hours last week due to dense fog and rough seas. This has slightly increased waiting times at ports, as shown in the table above. According to Seaexplorer, 134 vessels are waiting at the Shanghai-Ningbo waiting area, and 40 vessels are outside Qingdao.
Tropical Storm Wutip closed Yantian, Shekou and Nansha for 10 to 49 hours on 13-15 June. In the Hong Kong-Yantian port area, 87 vessels are waiting at anchorage.
Malaysia
Port Kelang: Carrier report waiting times of up to 3 days due to vessel bunching and congestion. Yard utilisation is around 95%.
Philippines
Manila: Due to port congestion, the average 7-day vessel waiting time is around 1.8 days. At the time of publishing, 14 vessels were at anchor in Manila.
Singapore: Carriers report waiting times of up to 2 days. Yard utilisation remains high. According to seaexplorer, 31 vessels were in the anchorage area outside Singapore-Tangung Pelepas.
New Zealand
Tauranga: Wind and fog disrupted operations last week, and two cranes were on scheduled maintenance, limiting the number of available cranes to six units. All equipment was operational by the weekend.
This week, more vessels are expected to arrive on window, with tight but manageable berthing intervals. The yard is stable; nevertheless, the port is still not accepting early receivals for exports.
Thailand
Laem Chabang: For export shipments, there is currently a shortage of containers at the Lat Krabang Inland Container Depot, primarily due to a lack of available truck drivers to transport empty containers from Laem Chabang Port to Lat Krabang. For import shipments, delays are being experienced in the transfer of containers from Laem Chabang Port to Lat Krabang ICD, resulting in extended lead times.
Europe
Belgium
Antwerp: Yard utilisation remains high at PSA, impacting overall productivity. Despite these challenges, container deliveries continue steadily. The barge terminal is operating well. Q869 faces added pressure due to its single berth and full yard. Two cranes are out of service until year-end. Additionally, a national strike planned for Wednesday, June 25, is likely to cause significant disruption, though specific impacts are not yet confirmed.
Germany
Rail closures
Due to construction works, rail access to Hamburg Waltershof station will be completely closed from 4-8 July. This will prevent operations at the Hamburg Altenwerder, Burchardkai, and Eurogate terminals and cancel all train services during this period. Accumulated volumes at these terminals are expected pre- and post-closure and may lead to extended handling times. Carriers suggest routing cargo via alternate ports such as Bremerhaven, Wilhelmshaven, Antwerp, Trieste, or Rotterdam or using truck transport.
Service providers announced the following planned train departures from Hamburg before and after the closure:
- Import: Last departure will be on 3 July (arrival inland 4 July). Service resumes on 8 July (arrival 9 July).
- Export: Last departure will be on 2 July (arrival in Hamburg 3 July). Service resumes on 7 July (arrival 8 July).
Summer truck restrictions
Driving bans will be in effect during the upcoming summer holidays. In addition to the existing ban on Sundays and public holidays between 00:00 and 22:00, Germany will impose a ban on trucks over 7.5 tons on certain motorways and federal roads on Saturdays between 07:00 and 20:00 from 1 July to 31 August 2025.
Bremerhaven
- NTB: Operations are stable despite high yard utilisation. Significant capacity reductions are expected during the summer holidays. The terminal is reviewing a long-term contingency plan to maintain operational stability.
Hamburg
On 18 June, a bomb was found under the Köhlbrandbrücke, leading to a one-kilometre radius evacuation and bridge closure. All truck transport and transfers were affected, and timely deliveries could not be guaranteed.
- CTA: Yard utilisation is high but remains stable. The berthing lineup is full, and ad-hoc vessels experience waiting times. Labour is sufficient during the week, but is expected to drop over the weekend, which may see reduced volunteer labour due to favourable weather and traffic restrictions affecting terminal access.
- CTB: Rail delays are currently 17 hours.
- CTH: Yard utilisation remains high at 87% but is under control.
- CTW: Yard operations remain stable. High move volumes continue to strain operations. Labour shortages are expected to worsen during the summer holiday period. A long-term solution is under review.
- EKOM: Rail delays of 6 hours currently
Netherlands
Rotterdam
- DELTA II: Yard utilisation is low. Labour shortages are creating operational bottlenecks. Although windows for barges and feeders have reopened, inter-terminal truck (ITT) challenges remain, hindering transfers.
- ECT: Yard utilisation is around 80%. Labour availability has slightly declined with the start of the pre-summer holiday period, and no seasonal workers have joined yet. Feeder delays are around 48 hours. Berth utilisation continues at full capacity, with the terminal operating at 100%. The terminal has limited ITT transfers for feeders between ECT and Delta II. Further limitations are under review. However, ITT operations between mainliners remain unaffected.
- MVII: On 16 June 2025, APM Terminals Maasvlakte II and the Dutch port unions reached a new collective labour agreement, putting an end to slowdown actions. Yard levels remain high at the terminal due to high dwell times for imports and transhipment cargo.
- RWG: No changes to last week. Volumes remain high, and the lineup is fully booked.
United Kingdom
London Gateway: The yard is currently operating at around 70%. Labour availability is stable. However, recent back-to-back vessel arrivals caused delays of 12–14 hours, impacting overall scheduling.
To manage congestion, the terminal has limited container handling to essential moves only until operations normalise. Equipment issues and system outages have also affected productivity, though impacts have been contained. Four straddle carriers have arrived and are being prepared for service within the next two weeks, which will help boost yard efficiency.
Middle East - Indian Subcontinent
Bangladesh
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has issued a warning for heavy to very heavy rainfall from 18-20 June 2025 across parts of the country, with the possibility of flooding in Dhaka and Chittagong(Chattogram). The expected heavy rainfall could cause issues with the container movements.
Chittagong(Chattogram): Waiting times are around 5-7 days, and yard occupancy is high. A prolonged public holiday has resulted in limited yard space and vessel handling efficiency at CCT and NCT. Issues with equipment and labour are further slowing down the handling of containers in the port and at CFSs. According to seaexplorer, 10 vessels were at anchor at the time of publishing.
Israel
Israeli ports Ashdod and Haifa are operating normally. However, there are restrictions on Dangerous Goods cargo, which some carriers will route via Port Said.
Ashdod Port and Southern Port accept DG cargo under special instructions. This is subject to change at short notice. Haifa Port is not accepting DG cargo. Carriers may choose not to accept future DG bookings or decide to deliver DG cargo elsewhere.
Experts highlight that carriers could choose to omit Israeli ports if the situation around the ports intensifies.
According to the latest update from the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), the Strait of Hormuz remains open and commercial traffic continues to flow. So far, CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd have confirmed that maritime transport is continuing as normal in the region.
However, there has been an increase in GPS jamming in the Strait of Hormuz and several other areas in the Arabian Gulf. This jamming affects the transmission of positioning data via AIS and challenges vessel navigation and operations.
Sri Lanka
Colombo: Waiting time has improved further this week. However, vessel bunching and congestion continue to challenge Colombo. According to seaexplorer, the number of waiting vessels is 15.
North America
Canada
Average import rail dwell time for Canadian cargo (Vessel arrival to departure rail ramp):
- Halifax: 7 days
- Montreal: 9 days
- Prince Rupert:6 days
- Saint John: 5 days
- Vancouver: 9 days
Mexico
Tropical Storm Erick has formed in the Pacific and is expected to become a hurricane this week, gaining strength as it nears Mexico's southern coast. Operational interruptions at regional ports are anticipated. Read more
USA
Average import rail dwell and transit time for US cargo (Vessel discharge to destination ramp):
- Montreal: 9 days
- Prince Rupert: 16 days
- Vancouver:13 days
- Charleston:4 days
- Houston:12 days
- Los Angeles:10 days
- Long Beach:8 days
- New York:7 days
- Norfolk: 7 days
- Savannah: 4 days
Charleston: Carriers report waiting times of up to 6 days in Charleston. Two vessels are currently waiting at anchor.
South and Central America
Argentina/Chile
As winter approaches, the border crossing between Argentina and Chile has begun experiencing seasonal closures. The border crossing is currently closed. Customers should anticipate potential delays in cross-border transport during this period.
El Salvador
Acajutla: The 7-day average vessel time is around 6.5 days, and can be up to 14 days. Docks A-1 and A-2 are presently undergoing essential maintenance. Due to these constraints, the dock crane is currently out of service.
Consequently, vessels encounter substantial delays before commencing their operations. The yard is heavily congested, and there is a slight labour shortage, leading to longer turnaround times. There is a lack of trucker availability due to congestion and a trucker shortage. The departure of containers from the port is subject to trucking slot availability.
Guatemala/Honduras
Atlantic ports in Guatemala and Honduras are facing congestion. Trucking capacity and infrastructure issues are causing delays.
Panama
Panama’s ports are currently experiencing high congestion and longer container dwell times. This is due to vessel diversions from U.S. East Coast and Gulf port strikes, drought-related limitations in the Amazon, and increased cargo rerouted through the Panama Canal due to Suez Canal disruptions.
As of June 15, 2025, Panama is experiencing unrest due to protests opposing proposed pension reforms. While port operations remain unaffected at this time, the broader social instability may indirectly impact inland logistics and ground transportation to and from port facilities.
Peru
A nationwide transportation strike is scheduled to take place in Peru on Wednesday, 18 June. Read more
Callao: Severe congestion on key access roads to the APM and DPW terminals, exacerbated by recent street closures near the Port of Callao, has reduced cargo flow by 50–65% and is disrupting import/export operations. If access issues persist, port entry times could rise by up to 30%, affecting logistics schedules and planning.
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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