by Manal Barakat, 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, the Middle East-Indian Subcontinent, North America, and South and Central America. 

Africa

Djibouti

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

Ivory Coast

Abidjan: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 4 days.

Morocco

Tanger Med, Casablanca: Bad weather due to a storm in the region is expected to suspend operations at these ports in the next few days. Delays in vessel operations are likely.

Nacala: In Nacala, heavy rains frequently cause flooding within the city limits, resulting in continual disruptions to removing containers from the terminal until the roads become passable again. Additionally, there are recurring power cuts.

Senegal

Dakar: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 3.25 days.

South Africa

Cape Town: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 7.5 days due to wind delays.

Durban: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 2.25 days; however, some vessels can wait up to 6 days for Pier 1 and 9 days for Pier 2. Inefficiencies resulted from equipment breakdowns and wind delays in previous weeks. This week, no wind disruptions are expected.

Asia Oceania

China

Due to the dense fog, operations at the ports were suspended for several hours. Port operations in Ningbo were resumed after being closed for a few hours; the closure didn't cause major congestion in container terminals.

Ningbo: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 2.44 due to fog closures in week 11.

Qingdao: The 7-day average waiting time is around 2.4 days due to vessel bunching and weather-related port closures.

Shanghai: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 2 days due to dense fog in week 11.

New Zealand

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

Tauranga: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 3 days due to congestion.

Taiwan

Keelung: Around 100 litres of fuel were spilt at the Taiwanese Keelung port on 16 March when the vessel Kanway Global was bunkered with fuel. The vessels TS Pusan, TS Surabaya, and YM Immense were contaminated when their hulls were coated in the floating fuel. The 7-day average vessel waiting time is 1 day.

Europe

Belgium

Antwerp

• Container Terminal PSA: Yard utilisation at 92%, impacting productivity and causing delays.
• Container Terminal AGW: Yard utilisation is stable at 66%, and reefers recovered to 62%. The terminal is stressed with high vessel calls, and occasional delays are possible.

France

Ports nationwide faced work stoppages due to strikes last week. However, the National Federation of Ports & Dockers suspended all forms of the strike as of 17 March to allow constructive bargaining. Terminals face significantly high yard utilisations of around 90%, impacting productivity.

Le Havre: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 4.67 days due to the recent strikes.

Germany

Hamburg

The port has been facing multiple delays for several weeks. According to the latest update, rail services to and from Northern German ports continue to be delayed. Local operators report challenges maintaining the planned circulation of trains. The situation has resulted in delayed train departures, drivers with limited work capacity, and an overflow of terminal import containers.

• CTA: Yard utilisation at 80%, with slight increases expected. There is a 10-hour operational delay due to fog, and dwell times are 6.2 days for exports and 4.0 days for imports. Delivery restrictions are still in place.
• CTB: Yard utilisation at 85%, hampering productivity. Fog in the week caused 11-hour delays.
• ECT: Yard utilisation is 85%, while export and T/S dwells are 9.2 days. Due to carrier phase in/outs, pressure on operations is expected throughout March.

Delivery restrictions at the terminals are still in place.

Greece

Piraeus: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 3.36 days due to congestion.

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

Netherlands

Rotterdam: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1.4 days. Truck handling at the ECT Delta Terminal and ECT Euromax Terminal faced interruptions this week due to a system breakdown. Both terminals were closed for trucks for a few hours on 18 March. Terminals are currently operational but facing longer handling times for road transport.

Yard utilisation at the RWG terminal reached 75%. Slowing down vessels from Asia mitigated the bottleneck at the only available pier.

Portugal

Weather storm Martinho is expected to hit the country this afternoon. Wind speeds are expected to reach 120km/hour. According to an MSC advisory, ports could be closed for 3 days, impacting vessel schedules and port operations.

Spain

Algeciras: The port is currently congested due to a fender replacement program that is forecast to be finished by the end of March. The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 2 days.

United Kingdom

London Gateway: Yard utilisation at the port is 64%. Quay crane 4 is out of service until 29 March 2025; the other cranes are operational.

Southampton: The terminal operates at 92% utilisation, with reefers at 94%. The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 2.58 days.

Middle East - Indian Subcontinent

Bangladesh

Chittagong: The port faces berthing congestion, and yard occupancy is at 55%. The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 2.38 days. Berth congestion has started to increase again.

UAE

Jebel Ali: Delays in berthing and departures at Dubai can be expected after marine operations were suspended on 18 March due to poor visibility caused by thick fog.

North America

Canada

Vancouver: Due to severe winter weather, the 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 4.33 days. The average import rail dwell time for Canadian cargo is around 12 days.

Average rail dwell times this week:

• Halifax: 13 days
• Montreal: 10 days
• Prince Rupert: 10 days
• Saint John: 11 days
• Vancouver: 12 days

United States

Houston: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 3.38 days. Carriers report berthing congestion and temporary draft restrictions, which are resulting in delays to vessel calls. Yards are highly utilised at all terminals. The berth is congested, and a temporary draft restriction is in order. Only 3 cranes are available.

Average rail dwell times this week:

• Montreal: 12 days
• Vancouver: 16 days
• Charleston: 7 days
• Houston: 10 days
• Los Angeles: 13 days
• Long Beach: 12 days
• New York: 8 days
• Norfolk: 7 days
• Savannah: 4 days

South and Central America

Guatemala

Multiple demonstrations and roadblocks continue to create challenges for cargo movements throughout Guatemala. This is affecting transportation for both northbound and southbound cargo through the Atlantic Ports (Santo Tomás de Castilla / Puerto Barrios) and Pacific Ports (Puerto Quetzal).

Honduras

Puerto Cortes: There are delays due to congestion, severe weather conditions, and labour shortages.

Panama

A nationwide 24-hour strike will take place in the country on Friday, 21 March, impacting unionised personnel. Impact on transportation is likely.

How Kuehne+Nagel calculates the 7-day average vessel waiting time

Before their scheduled port call, mainline container vessels may wait several days at designated anchorage areas.

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 pass 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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