Good Day Clients & Partners,
Please see this week’s freight and logistics newsletter below for the latest updates.
As always, the Inter-Sped team is on hand and ready to go the extra mile — please feel free to reach out to us at any time.
SOUTH AFRICA
Air Freight
Exports: Operations are running smoothly with no major delays, except ETHIOPIAN AIRLINE and EMIRATES into Africa, eg: Mali/Senegal/Tanzania (BKO, DSS, DAR) first available connection +/- 03/03/26. Huge backlogs into Nairobi Airport due to labour strikes.
Sea Freight
- Exports: Vessel space is at capacity for majority of shipping lines. Early bookings are crucial in order to secure space however this is subject to acceptance by carriers. Shortage of equipment in Johannesburg, Durban & Cape Town with most shipping lines.
- Truck booking system went live on 10th February 2026. Transporters have reported some challenges and delays.
- Transnet’s new website is now live, and can be viewed at www.transnet.net/transnetportterminals
Durban
Some high wind gusts have been experienced in the past week, especially on Saturday 14th, which did have an impact on terminal operations during this time.
- Pier 1: 1 – 5 days waiting time; terminal 2 berth operations has a crane breakdown
- Pier 2 (DGT – Durban Gateway Terminal): 0 – 2 days waiting time; however, generally clear.
- Point: 0 – 2 days waiting time
Cape Town
Weather conditions may continue to hamper both inbound and outbound services; with wind being forecast for the end of the current week. There has been some operational challenges with container movement; SACO and Zacpak teams are endeavouring to move containers as efficiently as possible.
- CTCT: 1 – 4 days waiting time. Terminal operations are recovering, however weather may continue to hamper operations. Some carriers are reporting up to 14 days berthing delays, as vessels are subject to Durban sailings and adverse weather conditions.
- MPT: 0 – 1 days waiting time
Port Elizabeth
Port operations are smooth; however wind and high swells may impact operations. Strong winds are expected over the weekend, specifically on Friday 20th and Saturday 21st.
- PECT: 0 – 1 day waiting time. Service maintenance is scheduled for the 19th January to end March 2026.
- NCT: 0 – 2 days waiting time.
AFRICA & INDIAN OCEAN ISLANDS
Air Freight
Operations are running smoothly with no significant delays.
Sea Freight
- Vessels delayed on rotational route may result in scheduling delays and vessel changes may be experienced. These delays will have an impact on published transit times.
West Africa
NAMIBIA
- 0 – 2 days waiting time at Walvis Bay.
- Intermittent wind gusts expected for the rest of the week and may impact terminal operations.
ANGOLA
- Congestion delays at 2 days experienced at Luanda port, with terminals operating normally.
GHANA
- Berthing delays of 3 – 4 days experienced at Tema port.
- Terminal is facing crane outages. Berthing delays for window vessels are up to 36 hours and nonwindow vessels are subject to availability. Terminal is following strict pro-forma moves.
NIGERIA
- Berthing delays of 8 days experienced at Apapa and 5 days at Tincan.
- Operational slow down is expected over the next few weeks due to bad weather and heavy rain.
IVORY COAST
- Berthing delay of 2 – 3 days experienced at Abidjan port.
- New crane has been commissioned, however operational slowdown expected due to vessel line up delays. Delays of up to 24 hours for window vessels.
Indian Ocean Islands
MAURITIUS
- Berthing delays of 2 – 3 days
- Cyclone Gezani has resulted in weather disruptions at the port.
REUNION
- Port Reunion is seeing 1 – 2 days waiting time.
- No weather concerns for the rest of the week.
MADAGASCAR
- Port of Toamasina (Tamatave)
- Impact of Cyclone Gezani, terminal operations suspended as at 12 February 2026, due port closure.
- As at 14 February, the port remained severely affected and not fully operational:
– Significant Damage – major damage to port infrastructure, including overturned containers and building damage and destruction.
– Operational Disruption – tugboats and barges at the Penta Dahio site ran aground.
– Ongoing Crisis – City and surrounding area in a state of emergency. Widespread power outages and flooded roads.
– Recovery Efforts – Emergency teams are working to clear debris. Port’s capacity to handle cargo, including critical supplies has been severely hampered. It is likely that full operations will take some time to resume – damage from the storm described as “catastrophic”.
East Africa
East Africa schedule is impacted by vessel berthing delays along the vessel route; compounding erratic schedules, delays, and vessel amendments. Please be guided accordingly. Carriers have advised extensive delays in East African ports.
MOZAMBIQUE
- Maputo currently reflecting 0 – 2 days and Beira reflecting around 21 days vessel waiting time.
- Maputo – Intermittent wind gusts and rain expected for the rest of the week.
- Beira – vessel berthing delays experienced due to high port congestion. Intermittent wind gusts and rain expected for the rest of the week. Terminal recovery is expected by weeks 19 & 20.
KENYA
- Berthing delays of up to 3 – 7 days experienced at Mombasa port (published).
- Terminal is facing long-term congestion, slow productivity due to equipment shortages and high transshipment volumes. Berth delays are also due to vessel bunching arriving off-window.
TANZANIA
- Berthing delays 3 – 5 days experienced at terminals, as a result of berth sequence. Terminal gate and road congestion is contributing to delays.
- Adani terminal has maintenance work on the quay over the next 2 years.
NORTH AMERICA
Air Freight
Operations are running smoothly with no significant delays.
Sea Freight
CANADA
Montreal
- Congestion delays of 4 days experienced at this port.
Vanvouver
- Congestion delays of 3 days experienced at this port.
USA
- Carrier service has seen routing change on southbound service – after Freeport, vessels scheduled to call Tema and Tincan prior to Durban. Transshipments are not the norm for published vessel rotation.
- Indications from MSC advises that port call of Tema is expected to be removed from the rotation, with only Tincan being a port call between Freeport and Durban. This change has not yet been affected on the MSC published schedules.
Terminals Updates:
NEW YORK / NEW JERSEY
- Average vessel waiting time in New York terminals is at 4 days.
SAVANNAH
- Average vessel waiting time for Savanah terminals is 2 days.
- SACO / Shipco containers sealed ex Atlanta load out Savannah terminals.
LOS ANGELES/ LONG BEACH
- Vessel waiting time is up to 3 days for Los Angeles and 2 days for Long Beach.
SOUTH AMERICA
Air Freight
Operations are running smoothly with no significant delays.
Sea Freight
ARGENTINA – Buenos Aires
- Berthing delays of 8 days. Terminals are working normally.
- The port is currently experiencing a 48 hour strike as launched by maritime workers from the FESIMAF federation from Wednesday 18th February.
BRAZIL – Paranagua
- SACO service is loaded ex Santos CFS and containers are trucked to Paranagua for loading onto the east bound vessels. This is due to a change of the carrier rotation for service into South Africa.
- Congestion delays of 0 – 1 day in Paranagua.
- Port terminals in Santos are experiencing some delays for vessels arriving outside of berthing windows, largely contributed to the high number of manoeuvres in the channel.
MEXICO
Altimera
- Berthing delays of 3 days experienced at Altamira port.
- Terminals are working normally.
Veracruz
- Berthing delays of 0 days.
- Terminals are currently working normally.
Manzanillo
- Berthing delays of 1 day.
- Port is working normally.
NORTH WEST CONTINENT, UNITED KINGDOM, MEDITERRANEAN.
Air Freight
Operations are running smoothly with no significant delays.
Sea Freight
NORTH WEST CONTINENT, UNITED KINGDOM, MEDITERRANEAN
- Cold weather conditions continue across Europe. Terminals are operating as per normal schedules, however delays and congestion do remain.
- Vessel schedule integrity is erratic and port omissions being experienced and carriers transferring container bookings onto amended vessels.
- The poor weather conditions in the Bay of Biscay in past weeks, has severely impacted vessel scheduling integrity.
On 13 February, Hapag-Lloyd advised that ongoing adverse weather across Europe continues to disrupt operations, with deteriorating conditions on 11–12 February causing intermittent stoppages due to strong wind gusts that reduced terminal productivity; although vessels alongside remain operational, the Tangier Port Authority has suspended all berthing maneuvers from Friday, 13 February, with improvement expected from the morning of Saturday, 14 February, while berthing line-ups are actively managed. As of 16 February, no material improvement has been reported in the Bay of Biscay, where wave heights of up to 10 meters are impacting vessel transits and disrupting arrivals and departures across the North Europe network; a renewed period of severe weather with strong winds and high waves was forecast for 11–13 February, potentially causing further delays, vessel sheltering, and reduced schedule reliability. Severe weather in Western Mediterranean ports continues to pressure overall network recovery. Although North European terminals are operating at full capacity following the clearing of ice and snow, high yard utilization, disrupted line-ups, and vessel bunching persist due to earlier service disruptions, with ongoing monitoring and further updates to follow.
An update from MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company advises that Port of Sines, a key transshipment hub, is operational and recovering from severe flooding, with sweeper vessels deployed to clear backlogged containers, particularly across the Mediterranean region and its transshipment hubs; however, although transit times are published as per scheduled days, delays of approximately 10 to 14 additional days are currently expected until the backlog is fully cleared.
BELGIUM
- Berthing delays of 4 days experienced at Antwerp port.
- Yard utilisation is very high and AGW terminal sees cargo opening times now 6 days prior to vessel ETA.
FRANCE
- Berthing delays of 3 days experienced at Le Havre port.
- Yard utilisation is stable.
GERMANY
- Berthing delays of 3 days experienced at Hamburg and 2 days at Bremerhaven.
- High yard density is being experienced and. Severe winter weather will challenge terminals and vessel bunching is expected.
- Ice on the River Elbe is leading to operational challenges
ITALY
- Terminals are congested with berthing delays of 3 days experienced at Genova and 2 days at La Spezia port.
- Container transshipment delays may be experienced at Las Palmas, Sines and / or Algeciras.
NETHERLANDS
- Berthing delays of 2 days experienced at Rotterdam port.
- Yard utilization is high across all terminals, with RWG at critical level.
SPAIN
- Berthing delays of 3 days experienced at Barcelona port.
- Container transshipment delays may be experienced at Las Palmas, Sines and / or Algeciras. Transshipment Hubs
- Spain and Morocco have also experienced severe weather challenges; HLAG update as at 13th February:
- Intermittent operational stoppages caused by strong wind gusts, which reduced terminal productivity.
TURKEY
- Berthing delays of 2 days experienced at Istanbul port and 5 days at Izmir port.
- Container transshipment delays may be experienced at various hubs (Las Palmas, Algeciras).
UNITED KINGDOM
- Berthing delays of 1 day experienced at London Gateway port.
- Yard utilisation remains high.
MIDDLE EAST AND INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT
Air Freight
Operations are running smoothly with no significant delays.
Sea Freight
INDIA
- Congestion delays of 1 day experienced at Nhava Sheva and 1 day at Chennai.
SRI LANKA
- Congestion delays of 1 day experienced at Colombo port.
- Delays for window berthing vessels for the next few weeks, as terminal is impacted by adverse weather conditions.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
- Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Jebel Ali.
- Advance Filing for the UAE (MPCI)
The grace period for the UAE’s Advance Filing (MPCI) program ends 31 March 2026. Effective 31 July 2025, advance submission of shipment data to the National Advance Information Center (NAIC) is required, with no penalties applied during the grace period. Shipping Lines must file Direct or Master Bills of Lading (for non-consolidated and consolidated shipments respectively), while Freight Forwarders and NVOCCs must file House Bills for consolidated cargo; relevant MPCI Party IDs must be reflected on all Shipping Instructions submitted to SACO for NVOCC filing and House Bill issuance. Filings must be submitted directly to NAIC (or via an accredited NAIC-certified service provider for forwarders/NVOCCs) and include standard Bill of Lading data plus ports, container and seal details, HS codes, involved parties, and all applicable MPCI Party IDs (shipping line, NVOCC, freight forwarder, and co-loader as applicable). All Shipping Lines, Freight Forwarders, NVOCCs, and agents must register with NAIC prior to filing via https://naic.icp.gov.ae/portal/registration/landing, with further details available on the NAIC website.
ASIA PACIFIC (Including Oceania)
Air Freight
Operations are running smoothly with no significant delays.
Sea Freight
Carrier blanked sailings during Chinese New Year period, specifically between weeks 7 & 9.
Capacity is expected to be in demand post CNY, coupled with indications of freight increases for March 2026. Some carriers have already advised of anticipated GRI’s in the new month, post CNY.
HONG KONG
- Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at this port.
NANSHA / GUANGZHOU
- Berthing delays of 1 day experienced at this port. Berthing delays may extend due to heavy congestion.
NINGBO
- Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at this port.
QINGDAO
- Berthing delays of 2 days experienced at this port.
SHANGHAI
- Berthing delays of 3 days experienced at this port.
SHEKOU / SHENZHEN
- Berthing delays of 3 days experienced at Shekou and 1 day at Yantian ports.
XIAMEN
- Berthing delays of 3 days experienced at this port.
XINGANG / TIANJIN
- Berthing delay of 7 days experienced at this port.
SINGAPORE
- Berthing delays of 1 day being experienced at this port.
KOREA
- Berthing delays of 1 day (KRPUS) and 4 days (KRBNP – New Port) experienced at Busan port.
TAIWAN
- Berthing delay of 2 days experienced at Kaohsiung and 1 day at Keelung ports.
THAILAND
- Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Bangkok and 1 day at Laem Chabang ports.
NEWS ARTICLES
NRF and Descartes Forecast Softer U.S. Import Volumes in Early 2026
12/02/2026
The National Retail Federation (NRF), in its Global Port Tracker report with Hackett Associates, projects U.S. container imports will decline 2% year-on-year in the first half of 2026. The sharpest drops are expected in March and April, with modest rebounds forecast for May and June. Tariff impacts remain the primary driver of softer inbound volumes, following a 6.6% year-on-year decline in December 2025 and a marginal 0.4% contraction for the full year.
Uncertainty around U.S. trade policy continues to weigh on forecasting, particularly pending a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States on tariff authority. Analysts warn that the possibility of new or revised duties—regardless of the ruling—remains a significant risk factor for supply chains and import planning.
In its February Global Shipping Report, Descartes Systems Group reported a 6.8% year-on-year decline in U.S. container imports in January, although volumes remained above the six-year monthly average. While December imports from the top 10 origin countries fell 8.4% year-on-year, month-on-month growth from December to January reached 7%, led by increases from India, China, Thailand and Vietnam. Despite ongoing geopolitical and policy uncertainty, analysts suggest import patterns may be stabilising at more normalized levels as businesses adapt to sustained volatility. Source
Blank Sailings Surge as Carriers Adjust to Chinese New Year Slowdown
17/02/2026
Container lines have significantly increased blank sailings across the transpacific, Asia–Europe and transatlantic trades as the Chinese New Year holiday period dampens cargo volumes. According to Drewry’s Container Forecaster, 136 sailings have been cancelled in February—122% more than in January—with the majority concentrated on the transpacific. The two-week holiday traditionally reduces manufacturing and logistics activity in China, prompting carriers to proactively trim capacity.
Blank sailings are expected to ease in March, with 53 cancellations currently announced, implying a potential 20% effective capacity increase month-on-month. However, demand remains soft, with first-quarter volumes projected to decline from the previous quarter. December data already showed container volume drops of 8% at Los Angeles and 5% at Long Beach, while transpacific eastbound vessel utilisation had fallen below 85% ahead of the seasonal lull.
Beyond the immediate holiday impact, analysts warn of mounting structural overcapacity. Sea-Intelligence estimates the global orderbook now represents 34% of the existing fleet, a level not seen since before the financial crisis. With demand growth muted, industry overcapacity could approach 10% in 2027 and persist through 2028, creating renewed pressure on freight rates.
Mitigating factors include long-term slow steaming, ongoing port congestion, the potential resolution of the Red Sea crisis and increased scrapping of older vessels. Even accounting for these variables, analysts expect overcapacity to intensify through 2026, potentially exceeding levels seen in 2023 and approaching those experienced during the 2016 rate war, signalling a challenging market environment ahead for carriers. Source
SOURCES & REFERENCES
SACO CFR | Hapag Lloyd | Maersk | MSC | Transnet | The LoadStar Publications | gCaptain.com | Shipco Transport | Splash247.com | Freightnews | Seatrade Maritime News | Automotive Logistics | Lloyds List
Again, the Inter-Sped team is here for all freight and Logistics needs – We will always do our best for you and keep you posted on your shipments progress on an individual shipment level.
Thank you for choosing Inter-Sped.
JJ & The Inter-Sped Team
