Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Partners,
Please find below our latest weekly update — Issue 16/2026 (26 May).
As always, reply to this email and we will route any specific bookings, routing alternates or contingency planning straight to the desk.
South Africa
Air Freight:
Air freight rates elevated with fuel surcharges up significantly across Middle East-affected lanes; capacity remains constrained on long-haul routes.
Road Freight: Cross Border: No capacity shortages or abnormal border delays, with exception of NamibianCustoms system updates created delays.
Sea Freight: Reefer season is underway — citrus exports are being prioritised across SA terminals and DG cargo may be subject to roll over.
Durban Moderate
- Pier 1: 0-1 days — Clear weather, all cranes operational Stable
- Pier 2 (DGT): 1-4 days — ETA delays on some trades Moderate
- Point: 0-1 days Stable
Cape Town Moderate
- CTCT: 0-7 days — Vessels delayed at prior ports; monitor Transnet schedules. Strong winds early in week, clearing for balance. Moderate
- MPT: 0-1 days Stable
Port Elizabeth Moderate
- PECT: 1-3 days — Improving with clear weather Moderate
- NCT: 1-5 days — Some carriers reporting up to 7 days berthing delays; improving Moderate
Africa & Indian Ocean Islands
Air Freight: Air freight rates elevated with fuel surcharges up significantly across Middle East-affected lanes; capacity remains constrained on long-haul routes. Both SA Airlink & Ethiopian Airlines are severely backlogged into many destinations.
Sea Freight: Persistent congestion across East & West Africa.
West Africa
- Namibia — Walvis Bay: 0-3 days — Wind gusts Moderate
- Angola — Luanda: 2 days Stable
- Ghana — Tema: 7 days — Crane outages, yard congestion Moderate
- Nigeria — Apapa (Lagos): 4 days — Severe road congestion, bad weather Moderate
- Nigeria — Tin Can: 6 days — Empty container build-up, gate closures Disrupted
- Ivory Coast — Abidjan: 11 days — High yard utilisation, road congestion cascading inland Disrupted
Indian Ocean Islands
- Mauritius — Port Louis: 1-2 days Stable
- Reunion — Port Reunion: 0 days Stable
- Madagascar — Toamasina: 0 days — Feeder services erratic Stable
East Africa
- Mozambique — Beira: 19 days — Recovery expected week 32/33 Critical
- Mozambique — Maputo: 1-2 days — Dramatically improved Stable ▼
- Kenya — Mombasa: 7 days — Long term congestion, equipment shortages Moderate
- Tanzania — Dar es Salaam: 4 days Moderate
- Tanzania — Zanzibar: 19 days — Quay maintenance ongoing Critical
Middle East & Indian Sub-Continent
Air Freight: Capacity constrained and freight rates elevated due to the situation in the Middle East. Freight rates into India elevated as Middle East rerouting compounds capacity pressure
Sea Freight: Hormuz highly restricted — six major industry bodies warn conditions may be too dangerous for safe navigation.
UAE & Gulf
- UAE — Jebel Ali: 27 days — Reduced mainline calls Critical
- UAE — Dubai (Port Rashid): 67 days — Severely worsened from 46 days in Issue 15 Critical
- UAE — Khor Fakkan: 5 days — Outside Hormuz, receiving diverted traffic Moderate
- UAE — Al Fujairah: 3 days Moderate
- UAE — Mina Khalifa: 41 days — Improved from 43 days in Issue 15; severe carrier avoidance Critical
- UAE — Abu Dhabi: 2 days Stable
Saudi Arabia
- Saudi Arabia — Jeddah: 4 days Moderate
- Saudi Arabia — Dammam: 12 days — Improved from 13 days; still affected by Hormuz closure Disrupted improved
Oman
- Oman — Salalah / Sohar: n/a days — Strategic hubs, elevated congestion Disrupted
India
- India — Nhava Sheva: 2-3 days — Increased volumes, landside strains Moderate
- India — Chennai: 2 days Stable
- India — Mundra: 4 days — Gate closures risk Moderate
Sri Lanka
- Sri Lanka — Colombo: 2-3 days — Increased transshipment, bypass risk Moderate
Pakistan
- Pakistan — Karachi: 5 days — Volume surge as alternate hub Moderate
North America
Air Freight: For imports into South Africa, capacity is constrained and freight rates elevated due to the situation in the Middle East. Capacity constraints continue on Export lanes
Air Freight: For imports into South Africa, capacity is constrained and freight rates elevated due to the situation in the Middle East. On the Export (ZA to USA) lane, capacity constraints persist
Sea Freight:
Canada
- Canada — Montreal: 3 days — Rail dwell main bottleneck Moderate
- Canada — Vancouver: 1 day Stable
USA
- USA — New York / New Jersey: 3 days Moderate
- USA — Savannah: 5 days Moderate
- USA — Los Angeles: 3 days Moderate
- USA — Long Beach: 2 days Stable
Latin America
Sea Freight:
Argentina
- Argentina — Buenos Aires: 4 days — Dramatically improved from 10 days in Issue 15 Moderate
Brazil
- Brazil — Paranagua: 0 days — Dramatically improved from 6 days in Issue 15 Stable
- Brazil — Santos: no delay listed — Service change scheduled 1 June with increased frequency Stable
Mexico
- Mexico — Veracruz: 7 days — Bad weather Moderate
- Mexico — Manzanillo: 5 days — Worsened from 2 days in Issue 15 Moderate
Europe — NW Continent, UK & Med
Air Freight: For imports into South Africa, capacity is constrained and freight rates elevated due to the situation in the Middle East. On the Export (ZA to Europe) lane, capacity constraints persist.
Sea Freight: Persistent congestion driven by geopolitical disruptions and early peak season effects. London Gateway, Genoa and Rotterdam worsened. Hamburg experiencing pilot strikes and low Rhine water levels boosting congestion.
NW Continent
- Belgium — Antwerp: 2 days Stable
- Netherlands — Rotterdam: 4 days — Critical yard utilisation Moderate
- France — Le Havre: 3 days Moderate
- Germany — Hamburg: 2 days — Pilot strikes and low Rhine water levels reported Stable
- Germany — Bremerhaven: 2 days Stable
UK
- UK — London Gateway: 5 days — Sharply worsened Moderate
Mediterranean
- Italy — Genoa: 6 days Moderate
- Italy — La Spezia: 2 days Stable
- Spain — Barcelona: 1 day Stable
- Turkey — Istanbul: 2 days Stable
- Turkey — Izmir: 2 days Stable
Asia Pacific (incl. Oceania)
Air Freight: For imports into South Africa, capacity is constrained and freight rates elevated due to the situation in the Middle East. On the Export (ZA to Far East) lane, capacity constraints persist.
Sea Freight: Capacity constrained with unscheduled transhipments. Bangkok surged to 6 days on truck shortages. Early peak season is materialising — carriers planning extra loader sailings. 34 blank sailings expected weeks 20-24.
China & HK
- China — Hong Kong: 1 day Stable
- China — Nansha / Guangzhou: 1 day Stable
- China — Ningbo: 2 days Stable
- China — Qingdao: 2 days Stable
- China — Shanghai: 2 days Stable
- China — Shekou / Shenzhen: 2 days Stable
- China — Xiamen: 0 days Stable
- China — Dalian: 3 days Moderate
SE Asia & Pacific
- Singapore — Singapore: 1 day — No LCL delays Stable
- South Korea — Busan: 2 days Stable
- Taiwan — Kaohsiung: 1 day Stable
- Taiwan — Keelung: 0 days Stable
- Thailand — Bangkok: 6 days — Truck shortages, rail constraints Moderat
- Thailand — Laem Chabang: 1 day Stable
Trade News
Rates & Surcharges — Early Peak Season Underway
The Drewry WCI rose 6% to its third consecutive weekly increase. Shanghai-Rotterdam rates surged 15% week-on-week. Carriers are tightening supply through blank sailings (34 expected across weeks 20-24) while pushing rate increases via FAK and PSS. Asia-US West Coast rates rose approximately 8% WoW. Asia-Mediterranean capacity is falling month-on-month by approximately 10%. Carriers continue to implement emergency fuel surcharges and GRIs. The Hormuz crisis drives war-risk premiums. Extra loader sailings are being planned for early peak season. Quoting basis for June BL dates should be refreshed.
Reefer Season & DG Impact
Reefer season is underway with SA citrus exports being prioritised across terminals. DG cargo may be subject to roll or hold at SA ports during peak reefer periods. Shippers with DG bookings should plan for potential delays and consider booking ahead of the peak window.
SA Regulatory Changes
SARS has gazetted increased customs duties on steel products (Government Gazette 54678 of 15 May 2026), creating uncertainty for cargo currently in transit. Importers should check whether their in-transit steel shipments are affected. Wheat and wheaten flour duties were reduced. The China trade scheme is now officially in effect from 1 May 2026. From 1 June 2026, all foreign-registered vehicles must be declared on the SARS Traveller Management System prior to entering or leaving South Africa. Transnet has implemented a Fuel Neutrality Charge effective 1 May 2026, applying per container at all Transnet Port Terminals and Durban Gateway terminals.
Hormuz & Cape Diversions
Six major industry bodies (BIMCO, ICS, INTERTANKO, OCIMF, INTERCARGO, IMCA) jointly warned that Strait of Hormuz conditions may be too dangerous for safe navigation. Full oil flows through Hormuz will not return before Q1-Q2 2027 even if conflict ends now. Cape diversions continue to impact SA trade lanes and compress vessel scheduling in European ports. The disruption is creating a two-tier tanker market, with dramatically different rate dynamics east and west of Suez. Despite increased shipping traffic around Africa due to Cape diversions, major ports have not benefited equally from bunkering demand.
SA Logistics & Rail Reform
Transnet reports its strongest throughput growth since 2011/12, with cargo volume throughput at its eight commercial ports increasing 4.2% to approximately 304 million tonnes. Vessel arrivals are up 9% and container volumes up 7.1% year-on-year. Transnet Rail has concluded Rail Access Agreements with 11 private Train Operating Companies, introducing an additional 24 million tonnes of freight capacity, scalable to 52 million tonnes over five years. The Road Freight Association Convention 2026 (May 29-31) will address mounting operating pressures including fuel costs and regulatory changes.
Containership Orderbook & Capacity
The global containership orderbook continues to hit record levels. With carriers simultaneously blanking sailings and adding capacity to specific trades, the market remains structurally complex. 34 blank sailings across major East-West trades are expected over weeks 20-24 out of 702 scheduled departures. Forced discharges at intermediate ports are creating roll risk on Asia-Europe routings. Re-confirm allocations for transhipment bookings.
Regulatory Deadlines
- 1 June 2026 (~7 days) — SARS foreign vehicle declaration requirement via Traveller Management System.
- 30 June 2026 (~36 days) — UAE-MPCI electronic filing deadline. Electronic submission 24hrs prior to departure.
- 1 July 2026 (~37 days) — SAMSA VGM Method-1 authorisation enforcement. Containers without a valid VGM will not be loaded.
- September 2026 (~127 days) — PVoC / Certificate of Conformity becomes mandatory for China-origin imports (toys, electrical, furniture pilot). Goods without valid CoC may be held at the border.
Key Articles This Week
SACO Issue 16/2026 (21 May 2026) (SACO)
Full port congestion data used as basis for this update.
Extra loaders and rising rates as early peak season gets under way (The Loadstar)
Early peak season materialising with extra loader sailings and North European port congestion worsening.
Drewry World Container Index — 14 May 2026 (Drewry)
WCI rose 6% (third consecutive weekly increase). Shanghai-Rotterdam +15% WoW.
Container spot rates snap back as carriers push emergency surcharges amid Hormuz tensions (gCaptain)
Carriers pushing emergency surcharges as Hormuz tensions persist.
NORDEN warns Hormuz disruption creating two-tier tanker market (gCaptain)
Dramatically different rate dynamics east and west of Suez.
Blank sailings and rollovers dominate May freight market (Freightright)
34 blank sailings expected over weeks 20-24. Asia-Med capacity falling ~10% MoM.
Transnet reports surge in vessel traffic as port efficiencies improve (African News Agency)
Strongest throughput growth since 2011/12. Container volumes up 7.1% YoY.
SARS tariff amendments: steel duty increases and wheat duty reductions gazetted 15 May (SARS)
Steel duty increases create transit cargo uncertainty. China trade scheme in effect.
New steel duties create uncertainty for cargo in transit (Freightnews SA)
Importers face potential retroactive cost impact on in-transit steel.
Rail reform gains momentum: Transnet onboards 11 private operators (SA Trade Desk)
24m tonnes new capacity; scalable to 52m tonnes over five years.
And that’s it – As always, the Inter-Sped team is ready to jump for you!
Best Regards,
JJ & The Inter-Sped Team