In response to congestion, Singapore Port reopens old terminals

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In order to alleviate congestion, the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) reactivated the old berths and yards of the abandoned Keppel Terminal, and also added a large amount of manpower to deal with the backlog of containers. After taking these measures, the weekly container volume that the Port of Singapore can handle increased from 770,000 TEU to 820,000 TEU.

In addition to the existing eight berths at Tuas Port, three new berths are expected to be opened within this year. The Singapore Port Authority has planned to speed up the opening of these new berths to increase the overall container handling capacity.

According to consulting firm Linerlytica, port congestion has once again plagued the container shipping market, with the Port of Singapore becoming the latest bottleneck. About 2 million TEU capacity is stranded outside ports around the world, equivalent to 6.8% of global container ship capacity. Among the global port congestions, Asia is the most serious. Southeast Asian ports account for 26% and Northeast Asian ports account for 23% of the stuck capacity. Linerlytica pointed out that the congestion has forced some shipping companies to cancel scheduled berthing plans at the Port of Singapore, which is expected to exacerbate problems at downstream ports, which will have to handle additional containers.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) reported that the recent surge in loading and unloading volume at the Port of Singapore is mainly due to delays in shipping schedules after shipping companies diverted from the Cape of Good Hope due to the Red Sea crisis. In order to catch up with the next schedule, they reduced the number of ports of call and moved Southeast Asia to National cargo is concentrated in Singapore, and the loading and unloading time of ships at the port is also lengthened.

Vessel arrivals in Singapore have increased significantly since early 2024. In the first four months of this year, the Port of Singapore completed container throughput of 13.36 million TEU, a year-on-year increase of 8.8%. Delays on container ships in Singapore and increased container throughput have resulted in longer waiting times for container ships for berths.

Currently, other Asian ports such as Shanghai, Qingdao, Klang, and Colombo are also experiencing congestion. Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world's largest liner company, has begun using Indian ports for transshipment operations.

Before the Red Sea crisis broke out, the Container Freight Index (SCFI) announced by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange was 891.55 points on October 13, 2023. It had risen to 3044.77 points last Friday (May 31), which was 3.42 before the Red Sea crisis. times.