Congestion Causes Delays in Asian Ports

Posted on May 15

Several ports in Asia, including the main Chinese Port of Shanghai, are facing congestion that delays cargo movements.The ports of Bangkok, Chittagong, Kolkata, and Shanghai are facing berth delays of up to a week, and one carrier has launched a feeder service to move cargo to less impacted ports for trans-shipment.A combination of increased cargo volumes, inefficient operations, inadequate infrastructure and periods of bad weather like the fog issues in Shanghai attribute to the growing problems.In some ports like Chittagong and Bangkok the situation is additionally impacted by the “first come, first served” berth operating system in place there, contrary to the pre-booking system used in most other ports.Some ports faced additional delays caused by lower productivity during crane upgrade work.Fog and heavy winds impacted port operations and vessel services in the Chinese ports of Shanghai, Ningbo and Qingdao, with the situation there gradually improving. The ports in Waigaoqiao and Yangshan experienced delays of up to three days.We are monitoring the situation on affected ports and will advise you of any delays your cargo might face due to these issues.