Port congestion, labour shortages, and holiday closures are impacting Asia-Europe and Mediterranean services, with vessel delays expected to stretch into February.
Ports across Asia are experiencing severe congestion due to a pre-holiday cargo rush, adverse weather, and high yard utilisation. In Shanghai and Ningbo, over 120 vessels were anchored at the end of December awaiting berths, with berthing delays of three to four days at Shanghai and two to three days at Ningbo.
Short-haul intra-Asia services are faring worse than long-haul routes, with delays of over two weeks on some routes, with vessels waiting to berth due to a backlog of empty containers and vessel bunching.
Efforts to ease congestion include deploying sweeper vessels to remove empty containers, but equipment shortages remain an issue. CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, and Evergreen are all reporting tight container availability at key ports in China, Vietnam, and Taiwan.
In Europe, labour shortages are compounding delays at major ports. Hamburg has been facing berthing delays of up to 10 days for vessels on Asia-Europe services. Rotterdam Le Havre, Barcelona and Genoa are also seeing delays, with strikes, holiday closures and congestion adding to the disruptions, further delaying services.
Cascading delays
The cumulative impact of these issues is evident in the schedules of vessels operating on Asia-Europe routes. The HMM Algeciras, initially scheduled to arrive at London Gateway on 29th December, is now expected on 2nd February due to significant delays in Rotterdam and Hamburg. Similarly, the Busan Express is facing a 10-day wait at Hamburg, with delays cascading from earlier disruptions in Rotterdam.
Short transit times between North European ports leave little room for recovery, although THE Alliance anticipates clawing back two days on the Antwerp-to-Southampton leg of its FE3 service.
We’re closely monitoring the evolving situation and will keep you updated as delays and disruptions persist. To maintain supply chain efficiency during these volatile times, let us help prioritise your urgent shipments and identify opportunities to expedite them.
To discuss how we can support and protect your ocean supply chain, please EMAIL Andy Costara today.
