4/6/2021

Dear all Valued Customers

 

Yantian Congestion Continues, Carriers Rerouting Some Vessels

 

Yantian International Container Terminal (YICT), serving 100 ships weekly as one of the busiest ports in the world, has been partially shut for the past week due to a COVID-19 outbreak. Given that Yantian processed 13.34 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2020, this slowdown will strongly impact supply chains already struggling with congestion and delays.

 

The longer it takes the YICT to open its western berth and ramp up port performance - which has been hit by reduced labour - the bigger the negative impact on trans-Pacific on-time vessel performance, which was at 22.2 percent to the US West Coast in April. Now, many carriers are skipping the port, implementing blank sailings, or calling other ports in order to mitigate further disruptions.

 

In a customer advisory, Maersk reported that increased congestion and vessel delays upwards of 12 days are expected. Furthermore, operations in the eastern area of the terminal where delivering vessels are mainly unloaded continues to experience “low productivity of about 30% of its normal level.” 

 

As the situation deteriorates, carriers like Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, COSCO, CMA-CGM, and ONE are alerting customers to the potential of not calling Yantian. Shipping companies and Chinese authorities have advised vessels to divert to nearby ports, including Shenzhen's west port and Guangzhou's Nansha port, which are operating normally despite sporadic cases of the coronavirus in the region.

 

BRi USA is continuing to monitor this ongoing situation and provide updates to clients with affected freight.

 

Another Ocean Shipping Impact: Containership Causes Double Crane Collapse at Kaohsiung Port

 

An OOCL-operated vessel has initiated a massive container crane collapse at the Taiwanese port of Kaohsiung.

 

The 8,540 TEU OOCL Durban initially collided with the YM Constancy before its accommodation unit hit a crane causing it to collapse and topple another nearby crane. In a statement, OOCL said that the ship was not carrying any cargo at the time of the incident. At this time, the investigation is ongoing.

 

The incident is likely to add delays to the Transpacific container trades, as Kaohsiung is a major transhipment port for many carriers in Asia. Meanwhile, the world's container ports are already experiencing congestion caused by high cargo volumes and incidents including the Suez Canal blockage and the aforementioned Yantian COVID-19 outbreak. However, we are preliminarily advised that despite significant damage at the Terminal 70 facility at KAO, operations could be back to near normal by Sunday, June 6, 3:00PM UTC.

 

BNSF, UP Battling Growing Congestion Pressures in Chicago

 

Both BNSF and UP are running low in space in Chicago amid another surge in imports over the last eight weeks. The two western US Class I railroads are struggling to find solutions to satisfy the growing impatience of truckers, importers, exporters, and port officials.

 

Each stakeholder has a different set of concerns and some even conflict with one another, making it increasingly difficult for BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad (UP) to find a solution that pleases everyone. Trucking companies want quicker turns, while terminal operators worry about equipment shortages.

 

Container Ship Orderbook at a Five-year High

 

Less than halfway into 2021, the amount of container ship capacity on order is at a multiyear high, and those orders could shift the rankings of global carriers by fleet capacity. Market analysts say that the recent ordering spree shows a return to a healthier level of fleet replacement but could lead to oversupply if it continues apace.

 

Through May, ocean carriers have placed new orders for 1.7 million TEU of container fleet capacity this year, the largest annual amount since the 2.6 million TEU of orders placed in all of 2015.

 

Keeping you updated,

BRi Customer Solutions Team

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