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

In Algiers, congestion has led to an average vessel waiting time of approximately 3.25 days, prompting authorities to divert vessels to Djen-Djen. Annaba and Bejaia are both experiencing severe congestion, each with a waiting time of 4 days. 

Oran is similarly affected, with a waiting time of 4.5 days due to ongoing congestion. Skikda is facing the heaviest delays, with congestion pushing average waiting times to around 6.5 days.

Ghana

Tema: Vessel waiting times improved to 2.43 days this week. Vessel bunching continues. As per seaexplorer, five vessels were at anchor at the time of publishing.

Guinea

Conakry: Due to severe congestion, services to Conakry are experiencing significant delays at the port. Vessel waiting times have risen to 4 days on average.

Ivory Coast

Abidjan: The 7-day average vessel waiting time improved to 2.63 days. Severe yard congestion is currently impacting operational efficiency and resulting in berthing delays. Some carriers report waiting times of up to 7 days.

Kenya

Mombasa: Waiting time has increased to 5.67 days due to port congestion and vessel bunching. Seaexplorer showed four vessels at anchor at the time of publishing.

Morocco

Tanger Med: Congestion continues to be high at Tanger Med. At TCT, carriers report waiting times of 5-6 days. The yard is congested due to an increase in discharge volumes from late-arriving vessels. Three vessels were waiting for a berth at the time of publishing.

South Africa

Cape Town: Vessel waiting time has increased slightly this week after windy conditions at the end of last week. One vessel was at anchor at the time of publishing.

Durban: The 7-day average vessel waiting time improved to 2.5 days. Three ships were waiting at anchor at the time of publishing.

Tanzania

Dar Es Salaam: The 7-day average vessel waiting time increased to over 3 days this week due to vessel bunching. Seaexplorer showed six vessels at anchor, an increase from last week's four. Service providers report road and gate congestion, resulting in extended container movement delays.

Asia Oceania

Australia

Brisbane: Patrick Terminal Fisherman Islands will shut down all yard and vessel operations from 07:00 to 23:00 on Tuesday, 22 July 2025. During this time, the terminal will carry out yard infrastructure and system maintenance. Delays can be expected.

China 

Due to congestion, carriers report waiting times of 2-3 days at the Shanghai YS terminal and 1.5-2 days at Shanghai WGQ and Ningbo. At the Shanghai-Ningbo anchorage, 135 ships were waiting at the berth at the time of publishing.

Waiting time can be up to 2 days at Qingdao. At the time of publishing, 37 ships were waiting for a berth. The port of Xiamen closed for 7 hours on account of fog last week, increasing the average waiting time there.

Malaysia

Port Klang: Carriers report berth congestion and vessel bunching at Port Klang. Yard utilisation is around 85-90%.

New Zealand

Auckland: Heavy fog temporarily disrupted truck operations this Monday. The port is facing winter weather disruptions and challenging operational issues, which are affecting window performance. Efforts are being made to return to the usual service level.

Tauranga: Adverse weather disrupted operations in Week 28, with 12 hours lost to wind delays. This continued into Week 29, adding 8 more hours of standby on 15 and 16 July. The port's berthing schedule is fully utilised. The yard remains highly utilised, so early export gate-ins are not currently being accepted.

Vietnam

With the shift in sourcing from China to Vietnam and other countries in the region, ports in Vietnam are seeing high berth and yard utilisation. Carriers report 0.5.-1 day waiting times in Vuang Tau, Haiphong, and Ho Chi Minh. Yards are between 80-90% utilisation, which may impact productivity.

Europe

Belgium

In a recent press release, the Port of Antwerp Bruges reported notable growth in container volumes alongside significant operational challenges during the first half of 2025. According to their statistics, container volumes increased by 3.7%, reaching 6.91 million TEUs compared to the same period in 2024. This surge in volume, coupled with challenging market conditions, has placed considerable strain on port capacity.

The congestion experienced by Antwerp and other Northern European ports can be attributed to several factors. As the port authorities explained:

"Container ship arrivals remain irregular due to disruptions originating from the Covid crisis, further exacerbated by rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Red Sea. The recent reshuffling of container alliances has temporarily led to simultaneous vessel calls and high cargo volumes. Poor schedule reliability is complicating terminal planning: containers remain on site longer, and vessels are arriving with increasingly large loads."

These disruptions have resulted in container dwell times increasing to 7-8 days, compared to the usual 5 days. Overutilized container yards necessitate more container movements, adding pressure on both staff and port equipment. Additionally, the hours lost during multiple strike actions have further compounded these challenges.

The port reports easing congestion on the waterside with limited waiting time for vessels. However, the impact of congestion on landslide operations at terminals is critical. 

Antwerp:

• MEPT: The berthing lineup is busy, and yard density is around 75%. Due to the yard congestion, waiting times have increased for container pickup/dropoff. Labour shortages occur during the weekends and the summer holiday period.

• PSA:

  • Q913: Operations are still facing challenges at this terminal. Yard utilisation remains high, and three gantry cranes are out of service. PSA is working towards reducing delays by limiting the moves to proforma. Additionally, labour shortages are occurring during certain shifts due to the summer holiday period

• •  Q869: Yard utilisation is high. Due to the summer holiday period, there are labour shortages, including limited pilots, during certain shifts. This is leading to operational delays and idle gangs.

Germany

The Port of Hamburg announced a €1.1 billion investment in port infrastructure expansion, focusing on modernising container terminal operations at the Waltershofer Hafen.

This project includes widening the turning basin from 480 metres to 600 metres, which will enhance navigational safety and operational efficiency for the largest container vessels.

Read more

Hamburg: At CTA, CTB, and CTT, berthing lines are full. Late-arriving vessels are required to wait for a berth. Yard density remains high, and therefore, gate-in restrictions remain in place. A labour shortage is expected until September. Several factors are contributing to significant rail delays at all terminals. Construction closures, infrastructure issues, backlogs from previous strikes and increased volumes are contributing to operational delays.

For more details on rail closures, consult our articles on Sea News.

Italy

Genoa: Some carriers report waiting times of up to 3 days. Due to the ongoing congestion, some vessels may omit Genoa. The yard density is around 86%. Four vessels were at anchor at the time of publishing.

Netherlands

Rotterdam:

• ECT: The situation at the terminal has not changed this week. The berthing line and yards are highly occupied, and late-arriving vessels wait for a berth. The barge and feeder delay was further reduced to 24 hours last week. ITT moves for feeders are restricted. On the landside, there is a high waiting time for truckers at peak hours. Labour availability is expected to be stressed from the end of this week as summer holidays begin.

• RWG: Some carriers report waiting, on average, 5 days for a berth due to a full lineup. The yard is under pressure as a result of high import volumes.

• MVII: High yard levels; however, operations are stable.

Spain

Algeciras: Carriers report a high yard density of around 83% 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.

Barcelona: The average 7-day vessel waiting time has increased in Barcelona this week, and the yard density is around 71%. Two vessels were at anchor at the time of publishing.

Valencia: Waiting times in Valencia have risen this week. Yard utilisation remains high at 85%, and the number of vessels waiting has increased to 13.

United Kingdom

London Gateway: Due to recent power and system outages, productivity is currently lower. The empty stock is at 1204 TEU. Terminal dredging is ongoing.

Southampton: The terminal is currently operating at 90% capacity, with reefer utilisation at 85%.

Middle East - Indian Subcontinent

Bangladesh 

Chittagong: The port is currently experiencing severe yard congestion and high vessel waiting times. Landside operations are under strain due to the high volumes of containers. Earlier this week, the number of vessels at anchor had risen to more than 20. Ships wait between 6 and 9 days for a berth, and are in port for 3-4 days.

At CFS locations, loading and unloading operations are facing significant delays. Due to a locomotive shortage, the dwell time for Dhaka ICD-bound imports is 20- 22 days for 20' and 20-23 days for 40'. The dwell time for Pangaon-bound imports increased to 1-2 weeks.

Another low-pressure system is forecast to disrupt operations in Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Mongla, and Payra. The local meteorological department has asked ports to raise cautionary signal No. 3.

Sri Lanka

Colombo: At the time of publishing, six vessels were waiting outside Colombo. As reported last week, the monsoon season, which brings heavy rain, can interrupt port operations and cause delays.

North America

Canada

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

• • Halifax: 4 days
  • Montreal: 7 days
  • Prince Rupert: 7 days
  • Saint John: 5 days
  • Vancouver:9 days

Mexico

Manzanillo is severely congested, with around 91% yard utilisation, as a result of strikes weeks ago and bad weather that has limited recovery. At Gulf ports, Altamira and Veracruz operations are stable but susceptible to disruptions during the Hurricane season. For cargo to/from Altamira, the landslide at PK-156 on the M line in Linares no longer affects train movement, but loading operations are still experiencing delays as a result of the incident. Altamira export delays are now 240 hours, and imports face delays of 72 hours.

USA

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

• • Montreal: 12 days
  • Prince Rupert: 12 days
  • Vancouver: 15 days
  • Charleston: 4 days
  • Houston: 13 days
  • Los Angeles: 10 days
  • Long Beach: 9 days
  • New York: 7 days
  • Norfolk: 7 days
  • Savannah: 4 days

New York: Due to an ongoing power outage, APMT Port Elizabeth closed its gates on the afternoon of Tuesday, 15 July. The trucks that were in the yard at the time of closure were processed by other gate-ins, and they were cancelled. The terminal said it would extend free time accordingly.

South and Central America

East Coast Central America

High yard utilisation due to service reliability issues caused by congestion at hub ports and trucker shortages is impacting import cargo release times in Puerto Barrios, Puerto Santo Tomas de Castilla, and Puerto Cortes.

West Coast Central America

Kuehne+Nagel reports a small improvement in performance at Acajutla from 10 waiting days to 3-4 waiting days. Yard congestion has reduced to 60%. At Puerto Quetzal, yard congestion is around 86%.

West Coast South America

The connection from Argentina to Chile is currently affected by bad weather. Some carriers have a 20' equipment shortage. In Callo, APM Terminals and DP World terminals face heavy congestion. The recent closure of access to Callao has affected operation times and worsened overall congestion.

Bolivia

Due to the ongoing fuel shortage, road transport operations are facing cost increases. These circumstances directly affect truck rotation, leading to cancellations and delays in pick-up, departure, transit, delivery and return of empty containers. Read more

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.

Stay Ahead Stay Informed: Register for seaexplorer  for the latest disruptions and vessel waiting times at global container ports.