WHY ARE PORTS CONGESTED? SHIPPING LINES BLAME… THEMSELVES
Lloyd’s List – Speaking at an international maritime industry conference, CMA-CGM executives attributed increasing port congestion to the rising number of ultra-large container ships. They explained that this has strained port operations, necessitating new operating models for both shipping lines and ports.
Experts from consultancy Linerlytica pointed out that ship upsizing, a trend that has been ongoing for years, has exacerbated port congestion, particularly in Southeast Asia. This has led to longer container dwell times at terminals and imbalances in export-import volumes. The root cause, they argue, lies in shipping lines restructuring networks to adapt to the Red Sea crisis.
A senior executive from a leading global shipping company admitted at the conference that increasing container ship sizes is a primary factor driving global port congestion. Speaking during the China Merchants and Linerlytica-led forum on container shipping and logistics—held as part of Hong Kong Maritime Week (November 17–23)—Christine Cabau Woehrel, Senior Executive Vice President, stated:
“Port congestion is widespread. It began in Europe and is now threatening to disrupt efficient ports across Asia.”
She continued:
“I believe the main reason for this congestion is that shipping lines, including ours, are deploying larger vessels than ever before.”
According to Linerlytica, global port congestion is currently tying up 7.8% of global container ship capacity, up from 6% at the same time last year, with the trend set to worsen. Woehrel noted that ports face mounting challenges as more 23,000 TEU mega-ships are deployed on Asia-Europe routes. The bottlenecks aren’t limited to berth productivity but extend to terminal yard operations, as these massive ships frequently call at ports.
She added:
“We must adapt to this ‘new normal’ since it’s not easy for global ports to expand yard capacity overnight. To tackle this, we need to develop new procedures between port operators and shipping lines. Better collaboration in forecasting vessel arrivals, handling productivity, and yard preparations is key to creating more efficient working methods.”
CMA-CGM is actively collaborating with the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) and PSA International to enhance terminal yard capacity and is conducting related research at European ports.
Source: CMA CGM
Adding to Woehrel’s comments, Hua Joo Tan, a Linerlytica expert, noted that port congestion can stem from several factors:
“Congestion might arise at quayside operations, terminal yards, or even port gates. It could also be due to labor shortages, so pinpointing a single cause isn’t straightforward.”
Linerlytica reported that major Southeast Asian ports faced severe congestion earlier this year. In May, for instance, ships were waiting up to a week to berth at Singapore, a critical port during that period. Tan explained that this congestion was primarily due to yard blockages but wasn’t solely caused by larger vessels. The deployment of large ships has been happening for years.
Tan concluded:
“The issue is that containers are staying in yards longer than usual, compounded by mismatches between inbound and outbound container volumes. This imbalance stems from changes in shipping line networks following the Red Sea crisis.”
Source: Lloyd’s List
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