by Manal Barakat, SeaNewsEditor
Over the past few weeks, a series of operational challenges at London Gateway Port have disrupted cargo movement. Among them are IT and power outages, rail accidents, and vessel delays.
Two IT and power outages were reported early last week, leading to a decline in overall performance.
Kuehne+Nagel highlighted on Thursday, 26 June, that only 50% of module cranes were operational, and the vessels’ berthing lineup reached full capacity.
Rail issues have also significantly affected the port. On 30 June, a rail shunter incident damaged the infrastructure and restricted rail capacity.
At least 43 containers that were planned to be shipped by rail over the weekend were suspended.
At the time of writing this article, the information shows that train movements were suspended on Monday until early Tuesday, 1 July, to allow for repairs.
The repairs were carried out successfully overnight, and all rail services resumed today.
Nevertheless, a large backlog of containers is yet to be moved. Rail companies estimate 500+ containers failed to rail so far this week.
The whole North Europe region has been grappling with extended delays caused by labour action in Antwerp, rail delays and backlogs at the port of Hamburg, and low water levels in the Rhine.
Authorities discover 2.4 tonnes of smuggled cocaine
Perhaps these delays contributed to one of the largest drug smuggling seizures ever made in the country.
Also, last week, the UK's Border Force reported that an "intelligence-led" operation led to the discovery of 2.4 tonnes of cocaine hidden deep inside a container arriving from Panama.
Maritime Executive reports that the drugs were buried under 37 other containers in an attempt to thwart any efforts to find them
The cocaine, which was divided into more than 2,000 blocks, is estimated to have a street value of almost $133 million. This makes it the sixth-largest seizure on record.
For the latest port and vessel statuses or situation updates, please refer to the seaexplorer alert map.
