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.
Middle East Africa
Cameroon
Douala: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 2.25 days due to the grounding of a conventional vessel.
Gambia
Banjul: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 13 days. The port is experiencing severe congestion and works on a FIFO basis, with no berthing windows. Seaexplorer showed three vessels at anchor at the time of publishing.
Ghana
Tema: Due to power outages, the 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 2 days.
Libya
Benghazi: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 3 days.
Mozambique
Beira: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 17 days due to a series of general strikes. At the time of publishing, seaexplorer showed 3 vessels at anchor.
Maputo: Waiting time for vessels has increased to 2 days due to general strikes in Mozambique and congestion.
South Africa
Cape Town: Strong winds are forecast for this week, which could impact port productivity and cause delays.
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. According to seaexplorer, 10 vessels were at anchor at the time of publishing.
Tanzania
Dar es Salaam: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 7 days due to low crane productivity and capacity constraints. Some vessels can wait up to 11 days. According to seaexplorer, 5 days were at anchor at the time of publishing.
UAE
Jebel Ali: Limited crane availability and high yard congestion is resulting in longer waiting times. Seaexplorer showed 10 vessels outside the port at the time of publishing.
Asia Pacific
Bangladesh
Chittagong: Due to port congestion, vessels can wait 1-2 days for a berth. Yard occupancy is around 77%.
China
Port congestion due to a series of adverse weather events is elevating waiting times at Ningbo, Shanghai, and Qingdao. At the time of publishing, 121 vessels were at anchor in the Shanghai-Ningbo anchorage area, and 15 vessels were waiting for a berth in the Qingdao area.
New Zealand
Due to the Auckland City Rail Link program, Kiwi Rail will close rail freight lines between Hamilton and Auckland from 27 December 2024 until 27 January 2025.
As a temporary option, KiwiRail will provide a road-bridge solution for dry containers between Hamilton and Auckland Metroport. Reefer containers will be road-bridged direct to/from Tauranga and Auckland Metroport.
Philippines
Manila: Due to port congestion, waiting times for off-window vessels range from 1 to 3 days. At the time of publishing, 30 vessels were at anchorage.
Europe
Italy
Ancona and Genoa are experiencing vessel waiting times of around 3 days.
Germany
Hamburg: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 2 days. Terminals remain heavily congested at 114% with full berthing lineups. As a result, productivity is slow, resulting in further delays. AT CTA, train arrivals are restricted to 7 days before vessel ETA. Unofficially, truck deliveries are restricted to 48 - 72 hours prior to vessel ETA. Labour continues to be under pressure. CTB has a reduced berth capacity due to ongoing shore power construction.
Netherlands
Rotterdam: Strong winds are forecast for Rotterdam today, which could result in the shutdown of operations.
UK
Felixstowe: Strong winds are forecast for 23-25 November, which could delay operations. The remaining section of the new Berth Four is projected to be fully operational by early January. Additionally, the phased introduction of new yard equipment continues as planned.
London Gateway: The port was challenged with a system outage on the evening of 19 November. Although the problem has been solved, a massive backlog is anticipated, and most of 20 November will be needed to recover.
North America
Canada
Recent strikes at Canadian ports have caused a backlog of vessels in Montreal, Vancouver and Prince Rupert. Carriers report delays of up to two weeks in Vancouver and seven days in Montreal. According to seaexplorer, five vessels were at anchor in Montreal, 12 in Vancouver and 2 in Prince Rupert at the time of publishing.
Average rail dwell times:
- Halifax: 8 days
- Montreal:12 days
- Prince Rupert: 12 days
- Vancouver: 11 days
USA
Norfolk: As mentioned in last week's port operational update, berth congestion was expected to increase in November due to crane delivery.
The number of waiting vessels has increased to 10 compared to last week's six.
Savannah: Fog closures have delayed the vessel lineup; however, vessel congestion has improved. This week, there were seven waiting vessels, compared to 16 last week.
Tacoma: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 4 days.
South and Central America
Brazil
Navegantes: Although the 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1 day, some vessels can wait up to 10 days.
Paranagua: Vessels arriving off-window can wait up to 5 days for a berth.
Santos: Severe weather has restricted vessel manoeuvres, resulting in berthing delays. Crane delivery and removal will limit berth availability in November. Nine vessels were at anchor at the time of publishing.
Costa Rica
Due to adverse weather, Red and Yellow alerts have been raised. The routes Cerro de la Muerte and Cambronero remain closed, and Route 32 is closed intermittently. As a result, inland transport is subject to container availability.
El Salvador
Acajutla: Due to congestion, the average 7-day vessel waiting time is around 4 days. 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 trucker shortage have led to low trucker availability, with an average wait time of 3-4 days. Container pick-up from the port is subject to trucking slot availability, and some carriers are reporting shortages of dry containers.
Mexico
Lazaro Cardenas: Yard occupancy is at 84%. The berthing lineup is congested, with vessels arriving off-window waiting up to 2 days.
Nicaragua
Corinto: The port is highly congested due to limited capacity to service the vessel lineup. There are only four berthing windows available and one crane. Most vessels omit Corinto to avoid waiting seven days for a berth. There is no estimated time when this will normalise.
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