The missile attack on NUMBER 9, an OOCL operated ship on 3 December has broadened the threat to all ships passing through the Red Sea, even those that have no links to Israel. Zim has already diverted its ships from the Suez to the longer Cape of Good Hope, while Maersk has also diverted 2 ships chartered from Israeli interests following the attack on the CMA CGM SYMI on 25 November. Among 3 ships attacked in Red Sea the past Sunday (3 Dec), the 4,253 teu NUMBER 9 that was targeted by the miss
The Panama Canal transit restrictions have started to impact containerships for the first time, with a rising number of ships facing delays that are set to worsen over the next 2 months. The limits on vessel transits that have been implemented since 1 November will see the daily transit limit cut from 32 to 18 for all kind of vessels by February next year, with transits for neo-panamax to be limited to 5 daily or 35 weekly. Containerships currently account for 29 weekly neo-panamax transits
Total vessel capacity waiting at ports increased to 1.94m teu or 6.5% of the fleet at the end of last week, with a growing number of ships waiting at Chinese ports. While port operations at Chinese ports remain normal, the rising number of ships waiting was due to scheduled delays for vessels phasing in/phasing out as well as ships entering and leaving drydock in China. The congestion situation in South Africa has continued to deteriorate with delays extended up to 10 days. Total capacity waiti
Carriers have retained their services to Israel and are continuing to accept bookings with the Israeli ports of Haifa and Ashdod remaining open through the week with only minor congestion issues reported due to increased security checks and labour shortages. Congestion in the rest of the Med region also appears to be under control with no vessel build up recorded. Global congestion has continued to ease with only minor delays reports in several hotspots, with Savannah continuing to see the wor
Total containership capacity waiting at anchorages edged up slightly at the end of last week to 1.61m teu or 5.8% of the global fleet with a slight build up of ships in China with the start of the Golden Week holidays. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has reduced the number of vessel passage from 32 per day currently to 31 from 1 November 2023. The current restriction are already reduced from the normal limit of 36 transits per day have been imposed since 30 July 2023. These restrictions have n
Global port congestion has dipped below 5% of the total fleet at the end of last week and is expected to continue to fall over the next 8 weeks, with container vessel traffic at China to slow down for the Chinese Golden Week holidays that will start on 1 October 2023. The fall in congestion in China in October would carry over to the US and Europe with vessel arrivals to be reduced over the coming 2 months. The total containership capacity currently anchored and waiting for berthing at the mai
The severe weather in North Asia and US East Coast pushed up port congestion numbers last week. Conditions across all of North Asia were affected the onslaught of typhoons Haikui in South China and Khanun in Central and Northern China with waiting times of up to 3 days due to the disruptions to port operations in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Kaohsiung, Ningbo and Busan. However, the congestion has already started to clear in North Asia by the end of last week with terminals and gate operations all rep
Global port congestion has dropped to a 3 month low of just 5% of the global fleet waiting at anchorages around the world, with conditions in the 3 main regions in North America, North Asia and Europe all showing continued improvements. No major congestion hotspots have developed after the labour issues at the North America west coast ports are resolved and the after-effects of the recent typhoons have also started to clear out. The situation at the Panama Canal remains under control, with no
Congestion at Asia ports have cleared gradually after heavy rain in early August from typhoon Doksoru and Khanun caused flooding across multiple North Asian regions. Southern California ports were also hit by Hurricane Hilary over the weekend, but port operations were not materially impacted with both the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach to re-open on 21 August after the partial shutdown the day before. There were no containerships waiting at the San Pedro Bay anchorage, and no buildup in po
Port congestion is clearing up gradually across all main regions, with North American ports recording the biggest improvements although the severe weather conditions in Northeast China in the wake of typhoon Doksuri will have a negative impact on congestion in China in the coming week. The port labour dispute in Canada has officially ended on 4 August after workers in British Columbia accepted the new labour contract ending more than a month of uncertainty that had affected all cargo handled at