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

Algeria

The level of congestion at Algerian ports remains unchanged this week. Vessel waiting times can be up to 5 days in Algiers and Annaba, 15 days in Skikda and 8 days in Bejaia. In Oran, ships can wait up to 4 days.

Morocco

Tanger Med: Carriers report waiting times of around 3 days at the TAT terminal. Yard density is high due to volumes from late-arriving vessels.

South Africa

The South African Association of Freight Forwarders NPC (SAAFF NPC) released a media statement commending Transnet for the substantial improvement in volume throughput at South Africa's key container terminals. According to the association's latest reports published on 22 June and 29 June, South African ports handled 97,000 and 87,000 TEUs, respectively, for the week. This was a 13% and 2% increase over the target for the respective weeks. Furthermore, weekend volumes also exceeded their benchmark, averaging 16359 containers handled per day on Saturday and Sunday.

"These gains point to meaningful progress within the national logistics system, driven by increased capacity, improved evacuation processes, and collaborative effort across the sector," noted SAAFF NPC in a LinkedIn post.

Cape Town: Truck turnaround times average 54 mins at CTCT.

Durban: Strong winds closed the port for several hours over the weekend. At the time of publication, three vessels were at anchor. Truck turnaround times are averaging around 67 minutes at Pier 1 and 2 hours at Pier 2.

Port Elizabeth: Due to vessel ranging, operations at Ngqura Container Terminal (NCT) and Port Elizabeth Container Terminal (PECT) were delayed for around four hours. Additionally, PECT lost around 12 hours due to faulty reefers. Truck turnaround times are averaging 36 minutes and 19 minutes at NCT and PECT, respectively.

The Port of Ngqura welcomed its first ultra-large container vessel this week. The MSC Nicola Mastro arrived on 3 July 2025, marking a historic milestone for the Eastern Cape port. According to Transnet, the landmark call demonstrates NCT's enhanced capacity and capability to manage ultra-large container vessels, establishing it as a key strategic transhipment hub for Southern Africa.

Tanzania

Zanzibar: Maersk reports that the Malindi port has prioritised bulk cargo, including essential food and goods, since February. This has resulted in waiting times for container vessels of up to 35 days. Feeders have also faced delays due to congestion at alternative berths. The carrier is looking into additional capacity and routing options, more efficient berth allocations and waiting times, and service review. However, the situation is impacting the carrier's ability to maintain service frequency and timely cargo delivery.

Asia Oceania

Australia

Fremantle: Due to adverse weather expected from 6 to 8 July 2025, ships have been sent out to sea to seek safety and shelter. In light of the forecast, DP World announced it would shut down operations on Sunday, 6 July, at 14:00 until Monday, 7 July, at 06:00.

Sydney: A weather system known as a "bomb cyclone" disrupted shipping and port operations in Sydney from the afternoon of 1 July 2025. Damaging winds of up to 125km/hr, heavy rainfall, and high swells have prompted severe warnings from the Bureau of Meteorology. The severe conditions were forecast to continue on Wednesday and to gradually ease by Thursday, 3 July.

All vessels were placed on storm lines, and terminal operations, including loading and unloading of vessels, were suspended. Empty reports were closed. Some vessels omitted Sydney, leading to delays and congestion at the terminal.

New Zealand

Auckland: The Port of Auckland advises that another low-pressure system is tracking southwest from the Tasman Sea. The system is expected to bring high winds and heavy rain from Wednesday evening, 2 July, to Thursday, 3 July. Should the winds exceed safe working limits, operations will be halted at the port and empty yards.

Overall, operations in Auckland are running without issues. The 7-day vessel waiting time is 1 day, and two ships are waiting at anchor.

Tauranga: Adverse weather interrupted port operations last week and over the weekend. This week, improved weather is expected, and regular operations will take place. Several vessels will arrive off-window this week. The yard situation is improving; however, the port will not accept the early gate-in of exports yet. The 7-day average vessel waiting time is 1 day, and there is currently one ship at anchor.

Europe

Croatia

Rijeka: On 1 July, an accident resulting in the derailment of a fast train occurred on the line Tovarnik d.g.- Novska M104 at Andrijevci railway station in Croatia. Metrans advised that rail traffic was suspended via this section and later partially restored on one track. Significant delays can be expected from/to/Rijeka due to restrictions and low train throughput.

Belgium

Antwerp: The terminals are under pressure due to high yard capacity, the impact of the recent strikes on the berthing lineup, and ongoing construction. Heading into the summer holiday period, labour could be limited over the next 10 weeks. Barge delays are between 96 and 120 hours at Q869/913. Read more

Germany

Port and rail infrastructure disruptions are causing significant delays across the transport sector. Yards are full and berthing lineups are fully utilised. Persistent ship delays and delivery restrictions make transport planning challenging and postponements necessary.

Rail

Current conditions in rail transport require pre-booking times of up to three weeks. Due to a lack of productivity in the terminals and rail construction, trains are usually delayed and not handled fully. This can result in additional trains being cancelled, shortened, and postponed, and capacities reduced. More recently, bushfires along the route into Hamburg are preventing the smooth flow of train traffic. Additionally, overhead line damage in several areas due to a storm this week is further affecting rail operations to/from Hamburg.

Due to construction works, rail access to Hamburg Waltershof station will be completely closed from 4-8 July. During this time, the Hamburg terminals CTA, CTB, and Eurogate will not be accessible by rail.

This week, the Hamburg Port Authority introduced a dispositive inflow control system, which manages the flow of trains irrespective of their planned slots. This may lead to further delays.

In Bremerhaven, a switch malfunction near Bremen-Burg made the route to and from Bremerhaven impassable for several hours this week. The route is now open in one direction for a single train per hour. This has resulted in a significant backlog, with many late arrivals at the terminals.

Read more

Bremerhaven: Some vessels can wait up to almost 3 days for a berth.

Hamburg:

• CTA: Carriers report waiting times of 1 day at CTB and high yard density. Gate-in restrictions remain in place.

• CTB: Late-arriving vessels are causing berth congestion at CTB.The average waiting time is around 4 days, as reported by carriers. Yard density is stable but high. Gate-in restrictions remain in place. Rail delays are currently 16 hours. The terminal announced that the customs station at Burchardkai will be unstaffed from 07:00 on Friday, 4 July 2025, until 07:00 on Tuesday, 8 July 2025. During this time, customs transit procedures must be initiated and completed at a customs station outside the terminal. Additionally, a custodian change will be required for the delivery and collection of customs goods during this period.

• CTT: Ships arriving outside their berthing window are required to wait for a berth. Yard density is high, and gate-in restrictions are in place.

Italy

Genoa: Berth congestion is resulting in some vessels skipping the port. Yard density is around 84% and a labour shortage is still present.

Netherlands

Rotterdam: Terminals are under considerable pressure caused by ship delays, restructuring within alliances, strikes, and staff shortages. In addition, ongoing construction work, crane breakdowns, and unforeseen closures are further reducing available capacity.

Construction work on the Betuwe railway line is also causing delays for rail cargo. Currently, the Emmerich—Oberhausen route area is under construction, which also leads to additional traffic jams on the already congested motorways in the affected area.

The delayed arrivals of large seagoing vessels directly impact the handling of inland vessels. In some cases, terminals have cancelled the fixed slots for barges. Current barge delays are between 36 and 96 hours, depending on the terminal.

• ECT: Vessels continue to arrive late, and the berthing lineup is fully utilised, increasing delays for feeders and barges. Large discharge volumes are adding pressure to the yard. Truck waiting times are high during peak hours, and the terminal urges truckers to use non-peak hours. Delays to barges are between 48 and 72 hours.

• Delta II: Lack of labour is reducing productivity, inter-terminal transfers, and barge and feeder operations. Barges are delayed by 36 hours.

• RWG: Carriers report ships waiting up to 4 days for a berth. Labour is stable. High import volumes are adding pressure to the yard. A planned IT outage over the weekend delayed barges at the start of the week. Barge delays are currently between 72 and 96 hours.

Rhine

Due to hot and dry weather, water levels at all measuring points on the Rhine have fallen, restricting barge capacity to/from inland terminals via Rotterdam and Antwerp.

Spain

Algeciras: Carriers report high yard density and a full berthing lineup. The port prioritises heavy export vessels to combat yard congestion and keep operations fluid. Some vessels wait 2 days for a berth.

Valencia: The vessel backlog has been cleared, and operations are back to normal. Construction works will take place throughout July around the APMT Terminal, which will affect gate and rail movements this month. The other 2 terminals are not expected to be disrupted.

Slovenia

Metrans reports ongoing issues such as track failures and train derailments, which have impacted the scheduling of rail transport to/from the Adriatic. to/from Hungry and shipments to Northern German ports. Delays to rail cargo can be expected.

United Kingdom

Carriers report busy berthing lineups and moderate yard utilisation at London Gateway and Southampton. Ships arriving late at London Gateway must wait for a berth. A power line issue caused disruptions this week at London Gateway. Read more

Middle East - Indian Subcontinent

Bangladesh

The National Board of Revenue Reform and Unity Council had announced a complete shutdown of customs operations to disrupt import-export flow. Although the strike was withdrawn and customs officers later began work again, the strike increased backlogs at CFSs and Chittagong port.

Chittagong (Chattogram): Berthing congestion continues at Chittagong. On average, the waiting time is between 5 and 7 days. The average vessel port stays (the time a vessel stays at the berth) have increased to 3-4 days. The annual monsoon season intermittently disrupts operations at the port.

• Dhaka Kamalapu ICD: Due to a locomotive shortage, the dwell time for Dhaka ICD-bound imports is 7 to 10 days for 20’ and 2 to 3 days for 40'. Overweight (GW>25 tons/20ST) import-laden containers are delayed by 15+ days/20ST. Two trains depart from Chittagong to Dhaka.

• Pagaon Container Terminal: Dwell time for Pagaon-bound imports has increased to 1-2 weeks.

India

Nhava Sheva: Truck drivers across the state of Maharashtra began an indefinite strike on 2 July. The strikes are taking place statewide, affecting cargo transport and logistics operations. The port of Nhava Sheva is located in Maharashtra, and shipment delivery and pickup to and from the port may face delays. Kuehne+Nagel is actively monitoring the situation and rerouting logistics where possible to minimise the disruption. Read more

Sri Lanka

Colombo: Vessel bunching remains a significant challenge for the port. On-window vessels are berthed within 24 hours, whereas off-window vessels may experience delays of up to three days. Interterminal transfer delays are notably impacting transhipment cargo. Shipping companies have reported transhipment delays, particularly for shipments originating from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and South Indian ports. This situation is expected to persist in the foreseeable future. Additionally, adverse weather in June disrupted operations, and its effects are still being felt.

North America

Canada

The St. Lawrence River water levels have decreased considerably and are forecast to decrease further. Due to the low water levels, container carriers implement cargo restrictions as they cannot fully load their ships. Some carriers have announced low water surcharges for cargo to/via Montreal.

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

• • Halifax: 4 days
  • Montreal: 8 days
  • Prince Rupert: 7 days
  • Saint John: 4 days
  • Vancouver: 10 days

USA

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

• • Montreal: 5 days
  • Prince Rupert: 3 days
  • Vancouver: 4 days
  • Charleston: 2 days
  • Houston: 6 days
  • Los Angeles: 4 days
  • Long Beach:3 days
  • New York:4 days
  • Norfolk: 2 days
  • Savannah: 1 day

South and Central America

Panama

Balboa: The average vessel operation time is 20-24 hours per vessel. Yard density is between 80 and 85%. Due to the high number of transhipment containers, some landside dispatch operations are delayed.

Manzanillo: At MIT, high yard congestion (85-90%) is delaying trucking operations. Port operations are normal.

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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