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

Algieria

The situation in Algeria remained the same this week. Several ports are heavily congested with waiting times of more than 6 days.

Djibouti

Djibouti: The average vessel waiting time remains at 8 days this week. Three vessels were at anchor at the time of publishing.

South Africa

Cape Town: Wind stoppages continued to impact terminal operations. This week, the average waiting time has increased to 6.5 days. However, no wind delays are expected this week. Truck slot allocations were slow, and gate openings were tightly controlled in the last week, resulting in delays to container movements.

Durban: Overall, waiting times have improved. There are no delays at Pier 2; however, vessels can wait up to 3 days at Pier 3. Service providers report equipment breakdowns delaying truck loading, but the backlog is expected to be cleared quickly. According to seaexplorer, four vessels were at anchor at the time of publishing.

Tanzania

Dar es Salaam: Although the average vessel waiting time has improved to around 3.5 days this week, nine vessels are waiting at anchor for a berth.

Asia Oceania

China

According to seaexplorer, 134 vessels are anchored outside Shanghai-Ningbo, a drop from last week's 160. As shown in the table above, the average waiting time for vessels remains somewhat stable this week.

In Qingdao, port congestion persists, with waiting times reaching almost 2 days. Thirty vessels were at anchor at the time of this publication.

Carriers report no serious delays at other Chinese ports.

Japan

The Golden Week holiday period began on 29 April and will continue until 5 May. At the ports, waterside operations will continue as usual, and all other operations will be suspended for this period.

In addition, labour unions announced a 24-hour strike on 11 May, when all operations will be suspended.

New Zealand

Tauranga: Heavy winds disrupted port operations this week, leading to a longer recovery period following the pre-Easter stoppages. Many vessels are arriving off-window, causing further disruption to the lineup. Yard capacity has also reached a critical point due to the disruptions, vessel schedule delays and high export volumes. As a result, the port will prioritise vessels based on their impact on terminal efficiency and the broader supply chain.

To safeguard against further congestion, the port has decided to delay the start of recievals for all vessels not yet open by 48 hours.

Malaysia

Port Klang: According to seaexplorer, berth congestion has improved. However, the yard remains extremely congested, reducing productivity. Seven vessels are currently at anchor outside Port Klang.

Singapore

Singapore: As indicated in the table above, the waiting times for vessels in Singapore have improved to 1.19 days. Seaexplorer shows 28 ships at anchor.

Europe

Belgium

Antwerp: A national strike occurred on Tuesday,29 April, halting all shipping traffic, including inland vessels. This caused significant disruption at an already stressed port.

Operations resumed at 07:30 on 30 April. At this time, the port of Antwerp-Bruges reported 59 ships waiting to depart Antwerp and 33 waiting to call the port. The port is maximising resources and locks to clear the backlog of vessels.

The situation at the port is highly disruptive. Yard utilisation is at critical levels, and the berth is heavily congested. Barges are experiencing up to a 6-day delay in Antwerp. Changes to vessel schedules and extended delays to cargo can be expected.

Germany

Due to the Labour Day holiday on 1 May, port closures are expected to impact vessel operations productivity at several terminals. Yards remain heavily congested, and delivery restrictions remain in place in Hamburg. Additionally, rail delays continue. Berthing lineups are full with 16 vessels waiting in the Hamburg-Bremerhaven area.

Greece

Piraeus: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 4 days due to congestion.

Netherlands

Rotterdam

• ECT: Carriers report some improvements to productivity at this terminal, although inter-terminal transfer remains a challenge. Yard utilisation is stable, and the number of reefer plugs available is manageable. Labour remains a challenge. Feeder delays are expected to reduce to 1-2 days this week.
• DELTA II: A labour shortage at this terminal significantly affects operations, including customs scans, inter-terminal transfers, and vessel productivity. In addition, no barge and feeder operations are taking place due to a lack of labour and gangs.
• RWG: Due to the high yard occupancy, the terminal has requested that cargo be picked up for all modalities as soon as possible. As of Wednesday, 30 April 2025, 23:00, empty container deliveries will not be possible for all modalities until further notice.

Spain/Portugal

The nationwide power outage, which began around 12:30 on Monday, brought Spain and Portugal to a standstill. Kuehne+Nagel reported that the situation at the ports in Spain was particularly chaotic. Closed terminals prevented notices from being sent, complicating efforts to retrieve containers.

Power was restored by Tuesday morning, and port operations are expected to return to normal by Thursday, 1 May. Read more

United Kingdom

Liverpool: On 30 April, an incident occurred at a site adjacent to the Port of Liverpool Container Terminals, causing all operations to stop to allow emergency services access. Delays to cargo pickup, delivery, and vessel operations can be expected.

In addition, the gates will be closed on 4 and 5 May due to bank holidays. The last gate acceptance will be at 14:30 on 3 May. The heavy lift and transit shed will be closed from 3 to 5 May. Ship operations will continue as usual on these days.

London Gateway: The berthing lineup remains fully utilised, and the port faces challenges including high yard utilisation and rail inefficiencies. To meet the demand, the port has sourced additional labour from Southampton. Vessels are also being diverted to Southampton to avoid schedule delays.

Middle East - Indian Subcontinent

Bangladesh

Chittagong: Berthing congestion is an average of 4 days for geared vessels and 5 days for gearless vessels. Yard congestion has slightly improved at CCT and NCT yards, but not yet at a favourable level. Insufficient logistical support and crane breakdowns are lowering productivity significantly. Due to a train shortage, dwell time for Dhaka ICD-bound imports is 7- 10 days for a 20ft and 2-3 days for a 40ft.

North America

Canada

Average import rail dwell time for Canadian cargo (Vessel arrival to departure rail ramp):

• Halifax: 5 days
• Montreal: 10 days
• Prince Rupert: 10 days
• Saint John: 6 days
• Vancouver: 11 days

United States

Average import rail dwell and transit time for US cargo (Vessel discharge to destination ramp):

• Montreal: 6 days
• Prince Rupert: 14 days
• Vancouver: 16 days
• Charleston: 4 days
• Houston: 11 days
• Los Angeles: 11 days
• Long Beach: 9 days
• New York: 8 days
• Norfolk: 7 days
• Savannah: 5 days

Savannah: The average vessel waiting time remains under 2 days this week, and the number of waiting vessels has dropped to six.

South and Central America

Argentina

The customs officials' strike, which was planned for 29 and 30 April, has been called off. Read more

Colombia

Cartagena: While vessel waiting times have improved in Cartagena, five vessels are currently waiting for a berth.

El Salvador

Acajutla: The 7-day average vessel time is around 19 days, and the situation remains the same this week.

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 a slight labour shortage leads to longer turnaround times. Due to congestion and a shortage, trucker availability is lacking. The departure of containers from the port is subject to trucking slot availability.

Nicaragua

Corinto: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 1.27 days, and yard density is high. Vessels can wait up to 10 days before operations begin at the port.

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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