Supply chain disruptions and port congestion are here to stay. Find out what to expect in Kuehne+Nagel's weekly port operational update.  

Middle East Africa

Angola

Luanda: Waiting time remains around 4 days due to increased vessel calls. AD Ports has signed a 20-year concession to upgrade the multi-purpose terminal in Luanda. The upgrade will include expanding the quay wall and adding new cranes and equipment. The development will be completed in the third quarter of 2026, increasing the terminal's handling capacity from 25,000 to 350,000 TEU.

Cameroon

Douala: Import yard occupancy is high in Douala; nevertheless, vessel waiting time has improved to below 3 days.

Djibouti

Djibouti: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 2.5 days. Productivity is low due to the reduced number of working cranes. 

Saudi Arabia

Dammam: The 7-day average vessel waiting time has improved to around 1 day. The port is heavily congested due to a considerable percentage of Jeddah cargo diverted to Dammam as a result of the Red Sea situation. Expect a 3 -4 weeks delay on local carriage due to lack of available transport.

Jeddah: Bad weather impacted the vessel lineup last week. However, vessel waiting time has improved to 2 days since the start of this week.

Senegal

Dakar: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 3 days due to congestion and poor productivity. 

South Africa

Cape Town: Waiting times in Cape Town have improved to an average of around 4 days this week. Some ships can wait up to 6 days. 

Durban: Equipment and crane issues keep productivity low in Durban, resulting in vessels waiting, on average, more than 5 days for a berth. Carriers report some vessels wait more than 20 days for a berth.

Tanzania

Dar es Salaam: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 11 days due to vessel bunching and road and gate congestion.

UAE

Jebel Ali: The port is very congested due to increased vessel traffic redirected away from the Red Sea. Feeders and off-window vessels usually face berthing delays. All terminals have high yard density, reducing productivity and increasing delays to inter-terminal transfers.

Asia Pacific

Singapore/Malaysia

Singapore and Port Klang are heavily congested, causing delays in vessel schedules. Carriers expect operations will take some time to stabilise.

Sri Lanka

Colombo: The situation at the port is unchanged. Productivity at CICT and JCT is impacted by high yard density. This has resulted in increased vessel waiting times for off-window vessels. On-time vessels berth on arrival. Those arriving off-window can expect delayed berthing. Colombo is experiencing increased vessel calls due to the re-routing around the Red Sea.

Europe

Netherlands

Rotterdam: The yard density remains high at several terminals, but operations are manageable. Winds impacted operations at some terminals last week. Delays to vessels at previous ports are affecting berthing plans in Rotterdam. 

Greece

Thessaloniki: A crane is out of operation for maintenance until mid-May, resulting in congestion and delays in operations. The average waiting time is 2.5 days.

North America

USA

Baltimore: A third temporary alternate channel to provide limited access for commercially essential vessels will open at the Port of Baltimore. According to Maersk, this channel will have a limited depth of 20 feet and may allow for restricted barge services. Whether barge operations are feasible is yet to be decided.

South and Central America

Brazil

Navegantes: Due to port construction, vessels are berthing on a FIFO basis. Carriers report waiting times could be up to 6-8 days. In addition, the port berths one vessel at a time.

Paranagua: Vessels out of berth window wait on average 5-7 days due to vessel bunching caused by high yard density and low productivity.

Santos: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1.88 days. Late vessels are waiting up to 5 days for a berth at terminals in Santos. Pier 1 at the BTP terminal is under repairs until 10 July.

Chile

Coronel: Strikes at the port are still ongoing. Operations are at a complete stop until 21:00 daily.

Mexico

Lázaro Cárdenas: Vessels have no waiting time; however, terminal truck appointments should be made 24 hours in advance. Truck bookings should be made 48 hours in advance, excluding singles and combined tandem. The loading process on the train platform takes 72 - 120 hours.

Manzanillo: There is no waiting time for vessels; however, truck shortages require bookings to be made 7 days in advance for exports from Mexico City, Querétaro, Hidalgo, Morelos and Estado de Mexico and 48 hours in advance for the northeast. Imports should be booked 72 hours in advance.

Veracruz: There is no waiting time for vessels at the port. Truck appointments at the terminal should be made 24 hours in advance. Trucks should be booked 48 hours in advance. Loading operations for trains take 48 hours.

Panama

Panama Canal: The Panama Canal Authority will increase the number of daily transits in May. From mid-May, the number of daily transits will increase from 24 to 31 with the addition of 7 slots for the Panama Locks. From 1 June, an additional slot will be added to the Neopanamax Locks, bringing the total number of transits to 32 per day.

In addition, the draft restriction for the Neopanamax will be raised from 13.41 meters (44 feet) to 13.71 meters (45 feet) from 15 June.

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