Below please find our weekly industry update.

As always, we will keep you posted on any impacts to your cargo on an individual shipment level.

South African Port Updates

DURBAN

Port of Durban floating crane out of commission from 1 February until the beginning of March.  

• Intermittent wind experienced during the week.
• Vessel berthing delays:

Pier 1 : 1-2 days

Pier 2 : 2-3 days

Durban Point : 3 days

• Appointment slots are constrained, due to high volume of containers and backlog within the Durban terminals. 

CAPE TOWN

• Bad weather experienced during the week.
• Vessel berthing delays remain the same as week 3:

CTCT : 7 days

MPT : 3-7 days

• High volumes of cargo and traffic at Cape Town terminals. Newly introduced trucking stage area outside of the Port of Cape Town is causing queuing and delays in upliftment and delivery of containers.

PORT ELIZABETH

• Strong winds experienced during the week.
• Vessel berthing delays remains unchanged from week 3.

PECT – 0-1 days

NCT – 0 days

Africa & Indian Ocean Islands

MAURITIUS

• Heavy flooding due to adverse weather conditions.
• Import and export operations will be affected by the weather and loader offices’ closure.

TANZANIA

• Berthing delays of 7-9 days continue to be experienced at Dar es Salaam port.

KENYA

• Berthing delays of 3 days remains to be experienced at Mombasa port.

MOZAMBIQUE

• Currently experiencing strong winds due to the impact of Tropical Storm Cheneso.
• Heavy winds are expected to continue as the storm travels south down the coast
• No impact to port of terminal operations yet.
•  Berthing delays of 2 days are being experienced at Maputo port.

GHANA

• Berthing delay of 1 day continues at Tema port.

ANGOLA

• Berthing delays of 3 days remain at Luanda port.

USA

• Important to note that the current AMEX schedule remains erratic; with delays being experienced in both SA ports and USA ports.
• Trucking capacity is reduced in most areas in the USA, resulting in additional delays for picking and delivering cargo.
• Due to increased volume and labor shortage, most terminals are experiencing congestion issues,
• Increased terminal dwell due to surge of import volume and labor shortage is the main challenges affecting rail services especially in Chicago, Columbus, and Los Angeles areas.
• Southern California potential delays of 48-72 hours.
• New York: Vessel berthing delays have been reduced to 1 day.
• Norfolk: Vessel berthing delays average between 1 to 1.5 days.

CANADA

• Dwell times for vessel arriving in Vancouver have increased to 6 days. 

North West Continent, United Kingdom & Mediterranean

BELGIUM

• Dense fog over the last weekend led to operational interruptions and pilot station closure, but the terminal worked through the backlog. 
• Export cargo delivery gates will be opened only 7 days prior vessel ETA.

NETHERLANDS

• Import dwell times are increasing.

GERMANY

• Hamburg terminal has completely recovered and is operating smoothly now.

UK

• Poor weather conditions over the past week, but no operational interruptions
• However, vessel schedules have been disrupted from Southampton so late arrival is expected in London

SPAIN

• Containers transshipping in Algeciras are still experiencing delays.

PORTUGAL

• There is a strike expected in Lisbon, Portugal until February 5, 2023

FRANCE

• Terminals in Le Havre remains affected by SOU accumulating delays as this is the next port in rotation.
• Nationwide industrial action caused by a retirement age amendment announced by the French government led to 24 hours of port closures from 26.01 to 27.01 all over France. The created backlog is leading to congestion.

ITALY

• Containers transshipping in Algeciras are still experiencing delays.

Indian Sub-Continent & Middle East

INDIA

• All ports and terminals are operating efficiently.
• Only a 1-day berthing delay experienced at Nhava Sheva port.

PAKISTAN

• Ports in Pakistan are struggling with massive container backlogs. The Pakistan Ship Agents’ Association (PSAA)has warrened there is a possibility of Shipping lines suspending their services to that country.

UAE

• Jebel Ali port current has a 1-day berthing delay.

APAC

• Operations begin to return to normal after the return to work after the Chinese New celebrations.

News Articles

2M ALLIANCE TO END 2025, SAY MAERSK AND MSC

“The CEOs of 2M Alliance partners MSC and Maersk Line announced today that their vessel-sharing agreement will end in 2025. Vincent Clerc and Soren Toft said the decision was by mutual agreement. A joint statement said: “MSC and Maersk recognise that much has changed since the two companies signed the 10-year agreement in 2015. Discontinuing the 2M Alliance paves the way for both companies to continue to pursue their individual strategies.” According to the lines, there will be no immediate impact on services as the alliance will continue to operate as it has done since 2015. “Each company’s customer teams will communicate with their respective clients to support them during, and beyond, the phase-out of the 2M Alliance,” said the carriers.” [3] 

HUGE CONTAINER LOGJAMS AT PAKISTAN PORTS

“Container carriers serving Pakistan’s ports are wrestling with an acute foreign exchange crisis in an already challenging market environment. Local industry sources say the inability of importers to secure delivery orders for the timely clearance of cargo has created a bottleneck of alarming proportions at the port city of Karachi, which includes nearby Port Qasim. “Thousands of containers are already stuck in the docks, creating a supply chain logjam”.

The Pakistan Ship Agents’ Association (PSAA) sent out notices to the State Bank of Pakistan and government leaders warning that shipping lines will consider suspending services out of the country in the absence of immediate action to mitigate the crisis. “If international trade is stopped, the economic situation [in the country] will worsen,” the association noted. The economic collapse is rooted in a combination of factors – political unrest, natural disasters, roaring inflation, high energy prices and foreign debt payment obligations.

With mounting industry pressure, the Pakistan government has promised to extend ad-hoc relief for importers coming forward to clear up accumulated boxes. “The government has decided to waive demurrage and detention charges, which will now be borne by the national exchequer,” said a spokesperson for Pakistan’s ministry of maritime affairs in Karachi..[2] 

References and Further Reading

• SACO/CFR

• Hapag Lloyd Weekly Customer Service & Operations Overview 

• Maersk Customer Advisory

• MSC Customer Advisories 

• ONE Line General Information

• Transnet advisories as issued

• The LoadStar Publications

• gCaptain.com

• Shipco Transport

• Splash247.com

• Freightnews by FTW

[1] https://theloadstar.com/2m-alliance-set-to-end-in-2025-say-maersk-and-msc/

[2] https://theloadstar.com/humongous-container-logjams-at-pakistan-ports-as-forex-crisis-bites/

As always, we will continue to monitor the situation closely and ensure we minimize the negative impacts to your supply chains.