4 July 2024 (Lloyd's List) - ABOUT 90% of vessels are arriving at Singapore “off schedule”, according to the country’s minister for transport.

Chee Hong Tat revealed the figure when answering questions put to him by fellow member of parliament Yip Hon Weng on congestion at the port.

Tat said the Red Sea crisis and subsequent rerouting of vessels meant just one in 10 vessels was arriving on time, compared with 2023’s off-schedule rate of 77%.

Many of these vessels are arriving in a short window, creating vessel bunching and compounding congestion.

In addition, Tat said container lines were using Singapore as a transhipment port for cargoes bound for East Asia and are even rearranging boxes at the port, which he said meant “both the demands and complexity of container handling at our port have increased”.

As a result, boxships are spending longer at berth and creating significant congestion at the port. Linerlytica analysts said wait times for a berth at Singapore had reached four to five days.

Tat said the Ministry of Transport, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and PSA International were “working closely” to relieve congestion at the port and were bunkering ships while they wait for a berth.

Berths at Keppel and Tanjong Pagar terminals have been reactivated, while three new berths at Tuas (not expected to be completed until 2040) will also be opened before the end of 2024. PSA said it would speed up the development of extra capacity if demand stayed strong.

Tat said container throughput had increased by 7.7% between January and May this year, compared with the same period in the past year.

He added that efforts from the three parties had eased congestion, but said the situation could worsen as companies bring forward export schedules out of Asia.