Kuehne+Nagel aims to provide the most up-to-date operational information so you can make more informed decisions for your cargo. Our weekly Port Update summarises events impacting global port operations this past week and what should be considered when planning future shipments. Additionally, we include infrastructure and volume developments, amongst other relevant general port news.

Operational News

Africa

Senegal

Dakar: Congestion at the yard remains critical at 80% utilisation. Berthing windows are suspended to prioritise export loadings and empty evacuations. The 7-day average waiting time has reduced from 5.5 days last week to around 4.5 days this week.

South Africa

Durban: Transnet Port Terminal launched a driver and truck management system to improve terminal and cargo security. Drivers must be registered in the port's new electronic database for pick-up or delivery of containers. This will ensure that the driver and truck transporting the cargo can be validated against those in the system. Security checks will be completed at the port gate before the truck enters or exits the terminal. Over the last week, the 7-day average vessel waiting time improved from around 2 to around 1.5 days this week.

Asia

China

Major Chinese ports Ningbo, Qingdao and Shanghai continue to face dense fog and bad weather resulting in vessel bunching and higher vessel waiting times of around 2 days.

India-Pakistan

A very severe cyclone developing in the Arabian Sea is heading towards the coastal areas of India and Pakistan, with wind speeds reaching 125-135 kmph and gusts of 150 kmph. Cyclone Biparjoy is forecast to make landfall on 15 June, bringing heavy rain and high tides.

The following ports are affected:

• Pipavav: The port is closed to all water and landside operations, including gate and rail movements. Vessels have sailed out of the port and nearby anchorage for safety.

• Mundra: The port is closed until further notice. Rail services have also been suspended. ONE reports internal movement inside the terminal, and gate operations are continuing.

• Nhava Sheva/Hazira: Storm warnings have been issued for the ports; however, operations continue as usual.

• Port Qasim: Maersk reports that all shipping movements will be performed after carefully assessing the prevailing weather conditions, vessel type, etc. Contingencies are in place; however, the final call regarding port operations will be taken when the situation becomes clearer.

South Korea

South Korean rail workers began "partial" strikes last week in protest against the privatisation of rail transport. The strikes, which involve the reduction of rail capacity nationwide, started on 8 June and will continue until 15 June. According to Kuehne+Nagel sources, operations began to slow down, but transportation has not been impacted. However, significant delays were likely to occur during the strike week.

North America

Canada

Vancouver - Prince Rupert: ILWU Canada members voted 99.24% in favour of strike action against the BC Maritime Employers Association member companies should contract negotiations fail. The BC Maritime Employers Association and ILWU Canada are bound by mutual agreement not to file a 72-hour notice for a strike or lockout before 21 June.

Furthermore, the timeline for a potential strike or lockout remains unaltered; neither party can gain the legal entitlement to initiate a strike or lockout before 21 June. The earliest permissible date for either party to exercise their right to strike or lockout would be 12:01 am PT on 24 June. No contingencies to divert vessels from Vancouver and Prince Rupert have been announced as yet by carriers. This may change as the above-mentioned dates approach.

USA

New York- New Jersey: The ports were forced to close from 15:00 on 7 June until 08:00 on 8 June, when smoke from Canadian wildfires caused poor air quality and visibility restrictions. The 7-day average vessel waiting time has increased slightly from 1 day last week to 1.36 days this week. No further operational disruptions have been reported.

US West Coast: The US West Coast ports experienced ILWU labour disruptions in the past week, shutting down terminals and mainly affecting vessel operations. This has delayed the loading and unloading of vessels, impacting their schedules.

On Monday, 12 June, the PMA representing the employers and the ILWU agreed to a cooling-off period. Job actions at San Pedro ports and the Pacific Northwest ports of Seattle and Tacoma were suspended for the night shift on Monday. The ports resumed operations under normal conditions on Tuesday, 13 June.

The 7-day average vessel waiting time for the LA-Long Beach area remains stable at around 1.7 days.

The Pacific Northwest ports saw increases in their 7-day average vessel waiting times as follows:

• Seattle: The average waiting time increased from 1 day last week to 3 days this week
• Tacoma: The average waiting time increased from 1.09 days last week to 2.38 days this week

Oceania

Australia

Employees of towage company Svitzer Australia have voted in favour of a new national enterprise agreement, which was put to the vote last week. The voting outcome ends four years of negotiations and the risk of strikes and lockouts. The new agreement provides for a pay increase and preservation of work rules which the unions sought to retain. Although not all three unions favoured the agreement, 63% of the members approved the contract. The deal will now go to the Fair Work Commission for ratification.

South America

Panama

Panama Canal: The Panama Authority announced yesterday that it will postpone lowering the maximum draft for the Neopanamax locks to 13.41m until 19 June. The current draft restriction of 13.56m will remain in effect until 18 June. Vessels arriving with draughts exceeding these limits may be required to adjust their load before transiting the canal.

Other Port News

Europe

Germany

German Ports, a platform that standardises container import processes across Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Bremen and Wilhelmshaven, has added a new feature. The platform issues digital container releases eliminating cumbersome manual processes. The new feature complimenting the digital container release functionality is the ability to specify an alternate return depot on the release. Once again, it eliminates manual effort.

In the second half of this year, German Ports will offer multi-site container and vessel information. The software is being developed with service providers Dakosy AG and dbh Logistics IT AG together with Hapag-Lloyd, MSC, CMA CGM, and Kuehne+Nagel.

Hamburg: Hamburg Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) has purchased three dual trolley ship-to-shore (STS) cranes for its container terminal Altenwerder (CTA). Due to their dual use, the cranes are expected to improve operational flexibility and efficiency. The primary trolley transfers containers between the ship and the landside, while the secondary portal trolley can simultaneously transfer containers from the crane to the automated guided vehicles.

Spain

CMA CGM has purchased stakes in Cosco Shipping Ports' facilities in Bilbao and Valencia. Its bid to acquire a 49% stake in CSP Iberian Valencia Terminal and 38% of CSP Iberian Bilbao Terminal is awaiting regulatory approval. These acquisitions add to CMA CGM's existing portfolio of terminals in Algeciras and Sevilla. CSP Bilbao is a key port for CMA CGM's intra-European shortsea services, connecting Spain with the main ports in northern Europe. The 3.5m TEU CSP Valencia is one of Spain's largest container terminals and a major gateway for the country. "Both CSP Bilbao and Valencia offer strong intermodal connections to the country's hinterland, including rail, with direct connections to Madrid and Zaragoza," said the carrier.

North America

USA

Los Angeles: Port figures released yesterday show that Los Angeles handled 779.140 TEU for May. This is a 60% increase in cargo handled by the port since February this year and a 19% decrease compared to May 2022. Full imports for May totalled 409,150 TEU, down 18% compared to May last year. Full exports amounted to 101,741 TEU, a decline of 19% compared to the previous year.

"Even with improving volume, our terminals are a long way from working at full capacity," said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka during a media briefing on Tuesday. "We're starting to see more vessels headed across the Pacific to Los Angeles, an encouraging sign for the second half of the year," said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka.

Wilmington: The Delaware Port has secured a new operator and an investment in infrastructure of $21 million towards developing a new 1 million TEU container terminal. Enstructure LLC said it is working with a global carrier to establish the Edgemoor Terminal. The facility will be able to accommodate two neo-Panamax ships. Enstructure has pledged another $45 million to improve the existing container terminal in Wilmington, which has a capacity of 600,000 TEU annually. Wilmington was recently ranked number one amongst US Ports for turnaround time of ships in 2022 in the latest Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) 2022.

Oceania

Melbourne: The expansion of Melbourne's Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) is on track to be operational by 2024. The project includes increasing yard capacity by 50%, adding three new-generation cranes, and ten new automatic stacking cranes. Once complete, VICT will be able to handle neo-Panamax vessels of up to 14,000 TEU. The first phase, which includes increasing the terminal capacity to 1.25 million TEU, two new-generation cranes and six automatic stacking cranes, will be completed later this year. The second phase entails the delivery of the third quay crane and the remaining four stacking cranes.