Following the pilot actions in Antwerp earlier this summer. The container market has seen little opportunity to catch its breath. Congestion in Antwerp and Rotterdam, uncertainty in the Middle East, reefer equipment shortages and a major incident at the Deurganckdok are all adding pressure to supply chains across Europe and beyond.<\/p>\r\n
Below, we summarise the key developments currently affecting vessel schedules, equipment availability and cargo movements.<\/p>\r\n
Antwerp still feeling the effects of pilot actions<\/strong><\/p>\r\n Although the pilot dispute has been resolved, the impact remains visible throughout the Port of Antwerp-Bruges. Several weeks of disruptions created a vessel backlog that terminals are still working through today. Resulting in irregular cargo peaks and pressure on terminal capacity. One of the most visible consequences was the temporary export stop at DP World’s Quay 1700 due to congestion.<\/p>\r\n While operations are gradually stabilising, vessel schedules and container flows remain under pressure.<\/p>\r\n Rotterdam not offering much relief <\/strong><\/p>\r\n Traditionally, cargo can be shifted between Antwerp and Rotterdam when one gateway experiences difficulties. Unfortunately, Rotterdam is currently dealing with its own challenges.<\/p>\r\n High yard density, terminal disruptions and increasing vessel queues are causing delays throughout the port. Several terminals have already introduced temporary restrictions in recent weeks, creating additional pressure on inland transport networks and container flows throughout North-West Europe.<\/p>\r\n In short<\/em><\/strong>: cargo looking for an alternative route may find that the neighbouring port is facing many of the same challenges.<\/em><\/p>\r\n Renewed disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz <\/strong><\/p>\r\n At the other end of the supply chain, the Strait of Hormuz was once again closed following rising military tensions between the USA and Iran.<\/p>\r\n As a result of these tensions, Iran initiated attacks on commercial container shipping. Damaging the 7,000 TEU vessel GFS Galaxy<\/em>, which caught fire and forced its crew to abandon ship. In response, container carriers halted all transits through the Strait of Hormuz, leaving vessels, container deliveries, and empty equipment stranded both within and outside the region.<\/p>\r\n Reefer equipment under pressure<\/strong><\/p>\r\n The reefer market is becoming increasingly challenging. Major carriers in North-West Europe are facing serious equipment shortages due to the aforementioned global disruptions. As a result, Hapag-Lloyd has temporarily stopped accepting new reefer bookings from Antwerp and Rotterdam<\/strong> after running out of available 40′ reefer containers, with shortages expected to continue until at least the end of July.<\/p>\r\n CMA CGM <\/strong>and Maersk <\/strong>are also facing equipment constraints, with limited availability for new bookings before mid-August<\/strong>. In addition, HMM is currently unable to confirm reefer bookings<\/strong> to several Far East destinations due to a lack of available containers.<\/p>\r\n To counter these challenges, Shipex advises shippers to request all reefer bookings well in advance, as carriers will try to honour equipment allocations for bookings that have already been confirmed. In addition, flexibility in the use of multiple carriers may help expedite shipments in the short term.<\/p>\r\n Chemical incident closes part of Antwerp’s main container hub <\/strong><\/p>\r\n As if congestion and equipment shortages were not enough, Antwerp is currently dealing with a major operational incident at the Deurganckdok, home to Antwerp’s two largest container terminals (MPET’s Quay 1742 and DP World’s Quay 1700 – figure with dock and terminals down below)<\/p>\r\n Following a leak of hydrofluoric acid from a container aboard the MSC Mia Summer II<\/em>, emergency services launched a large-scale intervention. Shipping traffic, terminals and empty depots in the affected area were temporarily closed while authorities secured the situation and carried out safety measurements. Several dockworkers became unwell after being exposed to the gases, with a number of them requiring hospitalisation.<\/p>\r\n Authorities are reassessing the situation this afternoon before deciding on the next operational steps.<\/p>\r\n What does this mean for shippers?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n While each of these developments can be managed individually, their combined impact is creating a challenging operating environment where vessel schedules, equipment availability and terminal productivity are all under pressure simultaneously.<\/p>\r\n Our advice remains simple: book early, share anticipated volumes as soon as possible, and remain flexible where routing or carrier options are available.<\/p>\r\n We continue to closely monitor market conditions and operational developments and will keep you informed of any relevant changes.<\/p>\r\n Should you have any further questions or feedback, please do not hesitate to reach out.<\/p>\r\n Kind regards – The Shipex Team<\/strong><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Challenging Maritime Landscape This Summer Following the pilot actions in Antwerp earlier this summer. The container market has seen little opportunity to catch its breath. Congestion in Antwerp and Rotterdam, uncertainty in the Middle East, reefer equipment shortages and a major incident at the Deurganckdok are all adding pressure to supply chains across Europe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":578,"featured_media":7735,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n