Rotterdam and Singapore ‘face highest risk of post-Suez congestion’

Container Terminals in Rotterdam are likely to remain under the greatest pressure and the highest risk of congestion in the aftermath of last month’s Suez Canal blockage – as ocean carriers consider offloading cargo at major hub ports, skipping subsequent port calls, and turning ships around early to return to Asian ports, according to an impact report published today by Everstream Analytics.

It said this strategy allows the container lines to move faster to reposition empty containers which have been held at European ports for longer than usual due to the Ever Given’s grounding and are therefore unavailable in Asia, thus benefiting from spot rates which are almost four times higher on the fronthaul from China to Europe than on the backhaul.

The report noted that since last week, the first vessels stuck in the Suez Canal have been arriving in European and southeast-Asian container ports, which have been quieter than usual in the first half of April due to the canal blockage.

“In Europe, the Port of Rotterdam was expected to have the greater number of vessel calls from ships arriving from the Suez Canal,” the report noted. “Although contingency measures, such as emptying yards to make space for new containers, have helped terminal operators to keep operations running, berth line-ups of vessels have started to become congested and are expected to remain so until the end of April as more vessels continue to call at the port.”