SOUTH AFRICA
DURBAN
• Appointment slots remain constrained due to high volume of containers and backlogs.
• Strong winds on 10th and 11th of February. Current delays:
• Pier 1 : 1-2 days
• Pier 2 : 2-3 days
• Durban Point : 3 days
CAPE TOWN
• Increased waiting time is being experienced at CTMPT.
The port has reported bad weather during the week:
CTCT : 7 days
MPT : 5-7 days
PORT ELIZABETH
• Bad weather has caused vessel berthing delays to affect the port.
PECT – 1.5 days
NCT – 1 days
AFRICA & INDIAN OCEAN ISLANDS
MAURITIUS
• Berthing delay of 6 days at Port Louis.
TANZANIA
• Reduced berthing delay of 3 days at Dar es Salaam port.
KENYA
• Reduced berthing delay of 1 day at Mombasa port.
MOZAMBIQUE
• Poor weather conditions have impacted the country.
Berthing delays of 4 days in Maputo port.
GHANA
• Berthing delay of 1 day remains at Tema port.
ANGOLA
• Reduced berthing delay of 1 day at Luanda port.
NORTH AMERICA
USA
• Shipping lines and Co-Loaders have issued multiple advisories relating to Hazardous cargo, and increased emphasis on enforcement of tough regulations and the hefty fines that go with non-compliance. We are expecting the movement of DGR via LCL to become even tougher from the USA.
• Savannah and Charleston: There have been intermittent port closures due to fog.
• Oakland: Current berthing delay of 4 days.
CANADA
• Montreal: Extreme cold temperatures in Montreal impacted terminal productivity and rail performance.
• Vancouver: Vessel berth congestion has improved; however, rail terminal is experiencing heavy congestion.
NORTH WEST CONTINENT, UNITED KINGDOM, MEDITERRANEAN
TURKEY
• The country recently experienced an earthquake which has impacted on Iskenderun terminal. Logistics in and out of the area has been affected and delays are expected.
• Services out of Istanbul have not been affected and continue to operate normally.
BELGIUM
• Export cargo delivery gates will be opened only 7 days prior vessel ETA.
• Berthing delays of 3 days currently being experienced.
GERMANY
• Terminals has recovered completely and is performing normally with good productivity.
UK
• London Gateway port is operating well. Berthing delay of 2 days.
SPAIN
• Containers transshipping in Algeciras continue to experience delays.
FRANCE
• Ongoing strikes continue to impact the country.
• Gate in and gate out operations are limited.
• Terminal restrictions in place with a short window granted to gate in containers.
• A trucking shortage is expected and may lead to extra costs being incurred.
ITALY
• Containers transshipping in Algeciras continue to experience delays.
INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT and MIDDLE EAST
INDIA
• Only a 1-day berthing delay experienced in Nhava Sheva and Mundra.
UAE
• Jebel Ali port currently only has a 1 day berthing delay.
ASIA-PACIFIC
QINGDAO
• Intermittent port closure continues due to strong winds and dense fog.
NANSHA
• Due to COVID-19 policy adjustment by China authorities, both pilot and stevedore availability is reduced by 10% approximately, lower vessel productivity and longer vessel port stay time is expected.
SINGAPORE
• Due to carrier scheduling delays, vessels are delayed from berthing as originally planned.
MALAYSIA
• Berthing congestion is being experienced due to vessels bunching in Westports.
NEWS ARTICLES
NEW MOMBASA SEA-AIR TERMINAL WILL SLASH TRANSIT TIMES INTO AFRICA
A new sea-air terminal in Mombasa is aiming to more than halve the transit time for goods
moving between China and West Africa. Under development by Astral Aviation, the terminal will be the first in Africa to offer seaair connectivity, as cargo demand within the continent, which includes 16 landlocked countries, is expected to substantially increase over the next decade.
Astral CEO Sanjeev Gadhia told delegates at last week’s World Cargo Summit in Abu Dhabi: “On a purely ocean freight basis, it takes 66 days for deliveries from China to reach Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos, but with this sea-air route, the first for the continent, we will be able to deliver goods in under 30 days.”
Mr Gadhia said that, while the development of Mombasa would be the first, Astral was already in the process of identifying additional sea-air terminals, citing Durban in South Africa and Lome in Togo as potential future sites to cater for this demand.[1]
CONTAINER IMPORTS CONTINUE TO FALL IN THE U.S
Inbound cargo volume at major container ports across the U.S. is expected to drop to the lowest level in nearly three years this month, as retailers remain cautious about the state of the economy, the National Retail Federation said Wednesday.
“With the U.S. economy slowing and consumers worried by rising interest rates and still-high inflation, retailers are importing less merchandise,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy, Jonathan Gold. [2]
ISKENDERUN PORT RESUMES OPERATIONS AFTER MASSIVE FIRE
A fire at Turkey’s Iskenderun Port has been extinguished and maritime operations have resumed in the region, four days after the blaze broke out after following earthquakes that struck the country. More than a thousand containers which had caught on fire are being separated and the rehabilitation of the port will begin swiftly.
A source at the port said smoke was still rising from the scene as cooling operations continue. “The fire is completely extinguished but smoke is rising. Barring an extraordinary event, it looks like there is no chance for the fire to erupt again but cooling operations will last three more days. [3]
CARRIERS ADD FLURRY OF LONG-HAUL SERVICES INTO ‘STEADY’ INDIAN MARKET
The increasingly steady Indian container market is seeing a flurry of new long-haul services, as ocean carriers deftly redeploy tonnage to improve capacity utilisation and profitability.
“The deployment of global container fleets is undergoing significant changes due to declining cargo demand in China and falling ocean freight rates,” Bharat Thanvi, co-founder of Mumbai-based digital forwarder Freightwalla, told The Loadstar. “Over 565,000 teu of capacity has been withdrawn from the Asia-North America and Asia-Europe
trade routes,” he said.
He also noted that Hapag-Lloyd recently pulled a China-Germany express connection, while Ellerman phased more tonnage into the more lucrative transatlantic trade. This diversion, according to Mr Thanvi, had seen a 16.2% increase in the transatlantic capacity, accounting for some additional 162,300 teu slots.
At the same time, Indian exporters are facing demand challenges keeping up the strong growth they had early last year. Indian export volumes, by value, declined 12% year on year in December, according to the latest government data.
According to the freight marketplace, container lines looking to tap the Indian market have an opportunity to build volumes as US importers increasingly diversify their procurements away from China, towards other South-east Asian regions. [4]
RATES WAR PREDICTED AS CARRIERS FACE PERFECT STORM
After a bumper few years in which profits soared to record levels, the liner industry is facing a perfect storm. Amid a slowdown in international trade, resulting in falling rates, combined with an inordinate number of new builds in the pipeline, shippers could soon be in the driving seat once again.
Speaking at the recent National Association of China Shipowners’ Chinese New Year celebration, Evergreen chairman Chang Yen-i warned that, with the large number of new build mega-box ship deliveries beginning this year, liner operators could see a return of pre-pandemic rates wars if consumption fails to keep up with the capacity growth.
Chang said that if the economy did not keep up with the growth of shipping supply, perhaps liner operators would embark on a price war, which is “the unhappiest situation for our industry, unless we can significantly adjust the capacity. If the freight war continues, it may be difficult for earnings from the transpacific, Asia-Europe and other important routes to escape falling below breakeven levels. Even small shipping companies may have losses”. [5]
REFERENCES & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Inter-Sped Source information:
• SACO-CFR
• Hapag Lloyd
• Maersk Customer Advisory
• MSC Customer Advisories
• ONE Line General Information
• Transnet advisories
• The LoadStar Publications
• gCaptain.com
• Shipco Transport
• Splash247.com
• Freightnews by FTW
• Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide
[1] https://theloadstar.com/new-mombasa-sea-air-terminal-will-slash-transit-times-into-africa/
[2] https://gcaptain.com/container-imports-continue-to-fall-as-retailers-exercise-caution/
[3] https://gcaptain.com/iskenderun-port-resumes-operations-after-massive-fire/
[4] https://theloadstar.com/carriers-add-flurry-of-long-haul-services-into-steady-indian-market/
[5] https://www.freightnews.co.za/article/rates-war-predicted-carriers-face-perfect-storm
