The subsequent impact of the blockage of the Suez Canal: large-scale congestion in global ports! Singapore, Rotterdam, Antwerp take these measures

The freighter "Long Give", which caused congestion in the Suez Canal for many days, has been ordered to be seized by the court until it has paid 900 million US dollars in damages.

According to the report, the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Rabie said: “The Long Grant was seized for failing to pay US$900 million in damages.” He pointed out that according to the court seizure order, the US$900 million in compensation was based on The losses caused by the "Long Give" stranded, as well as the rescue and repair costs are calculated.

The "wrangling" of the parties involved on the amount of compensation and the cause of the accident has not yet ended. At the same time, the impact of the Suez Canal blockage incident is far from over, and will continue to disrupt the global supply chain for a period of time.

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Maersk, the world's largest shipping company, recently warned that the "ripple effect" caused by the accident may continue until May.

Lars Mikael Jensen, head of Maersk’s global marine network department, said in an interview recently that whether it is going to Europe or Asia, the backlog of ships will arrive at the port at about the same time. A large number of container ships flock to the port for unloading, which is bound to cause the port. Congestion requires coordinating the berthing of ships in the port, and the subsequent schedule will also be delayed. "We will see a chain reaction lasting until the second half of May."

▍Singapore, Rotterdam, and New York have a large backlog of ships arriving at Hong Kong

It is reported that in the supply chain congestion caused by the Suez Canal, it is estimated that as many as 1.9 million TEU of goods are being shipped to crowded ports around the world.

Since the Suez Canal was interrupted at the end of March, as many as 400 ships (many of which are container ships) have been delayed due to the blockade and now arrive at their destinations at about the same time, and these ports are already crowded.

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As the shipping company tried to resume normal service. It is expected that some large ports will bear the impact of the surge in ship calls in the short term. According to the data of the supply chain visibility platform Project44, as of April 12, more than 370,000 TEU of transport capacity is being transported to Singapore, the world’s largest transit port, and 83 vessels (total equivalent to 299310 TEU) have been berthed or berthed at the port. Waiting for unloading.

The situation in Rotterdam is similar. There will be 15 ships arriving next week, and a long line will be formed behind the 85 ships that have entered or are waiting to enter the port.

Project44 said that other major ports around the world are preparing for a large influx of goods, including New York, which has 76,500 TEU containers,; Port Klang, which has 103,900 TEU; and Jebel Ali, which has 75,879 TEU.

Affected by this, Project44 predicts that in the future, routes including Shanghai-New York and Shenzhen-Hamburg will be severely delayed.

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The influx of ships will also exacerbate port delays, which can last up to several days, but ports are not entirely unprepared.

▍The Port of Rotterdam launches new digital tools

PortBase, a subsidiary of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, has developed and launched a real-time arrival digital tool to provide cargo owners and other parties with real-time information to wait for increased throughput after the Suez Canal is blocked.

The port said that all parties, including the cargo terminal receiver, can well see in advance when and which vessels will be arranged for processing. This digital tool will enable all parties in the market to understand the yard schedule of all terminals in the port on one platform.

Allard Castelein, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, said: “We are very happy to provide customers with digital solutions. Freight forwarders who need to pick up containers from the Port of Rotterdam can use this real-time digital tool to make necessary preparations before the ship arrives at the Port of Rotterdam. "

"This can speed up the processing of containers and some goods, and of course, it can also speed up the processing of goods arriving late due to the Suez Canal blockage. This service demonstrates the added value of sharing data with the entire logistics chain."

Due to ships trapped outside the Suez Canal and ships bypassing the Cape of Good Hope, European ports are preparing to cope with a possible substantial increase in traffic.

In early April, the Port of Antwerp stated that traffic congestion is expected to occur after the reopening of the channel, and that container trade is expected to surge from April 12.

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▍The port of Antwerp prepares for a surge after the Suez crisis

With the blockade and reopening of the Suez Canal, the port of Antwerp is expected to see a surge in container trade from April 12th.

The port said in a statement that the impact of the incident on global container transportation may continue for several months because there is no excess container ship capacity to deploy additional containers and deal with these shortages.

Nowadays, many retailers and their customers can feel the impact, and they have noticed that orders for products such as bicycles have been delayed. However, it is difficult to estimate how much the port will be affected, and container terminals are preparing for increased throughput.

Barbara Janssens, a company’s public relations manager, said the port will be busier than ever. "The first ships to sail through the canal usually call Rotterdam and Hamburg first, and then arrive at the port of Antwerp." "It is not easy to estimate the exact impact on the port of Antwerp. It depends largely on the decision of the shipping company and the terminal. These decisions are taken from a global perspective."
The port stated that it is negotiating with shipping companies to understand where to free up container space at the terminal.

For example, some terminals have decided that containers to be exported can only be put into the terminal a few days before shipment.

And is also studying how to make better use of inland transportation capacity, and even more use of inland transportation and railway transportation. This requires close cooperation with the entire supply chain to maximize the use of available capacity.

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▍Singapore Port is ready to deal with the backlog of the Suez Canal

With the arrival of ships from Europe and the United States stranded in the canal, a large number of ships began to pile up in Singapore, the world's largest container transshipment port.

Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive Officer of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, said at a press conference on Monday morning, “The recent blockage of the Suez Canal has drawn attention to the critical role played by the operation of the global supply chain.”

"Therefore, the Port of Singapore is ready to meet the backlog of ships, and our terminal operators are preparing more berths and equipment to improve handling capacity." Quah said.

In particular, the terminal operator PSA is cooperating with the backlog of shipping companies and their schedules. Quah explained: “PSA has launched the digital platform Calista in an attempt to allow ships to better understand Singapore’s services and berth availability.”

At present, ships that have been stuck in the canal are still heading to Singapore, and how long it takes to clear the backlog will depend on the schedule.

In view of the unprecedented accumulation of cargo in container terminals around the world, the insurance company TT Club warned that this will affect the entire container supply chain and increase the risk of freight crime, especially the risk of theft.

In this case, the risk of theft at ports and freight stations increases, and more attention needs to be paid to security. Whether it is in an over-loading bay or storage area, or a temporary warehouse, no matter when or where the goods are not moved, they are more likely to be stolen.