Data collated over 20 months by portoverview.com has labelled as a ‘misconception’ the theory that container lines or terminal operators are entirely to blame for container delivery delays.
The portal monitors the status of African container ports and its first report analyses information since October 2012, measuring African port incidents and trends, new developments and carrier shipping performance statistics on the main African trades with Asia and Europe.
“As we observed when we started back in October 2012, African ports have experienced extreme highs and lows and will continue to do so for the rest of this decade,” said editor-in-chief, Victor Shieh.
“If we analyse vessel reliability of SeaIntel Maritime Analysis for the first half of 2015, many lines in trades such as Asia-Africa have recorded their best performances for the last three and a half years in terms of scheduled arrivals,” says Shieh.
“Productivity at the quayside and at the stacks has improved at many terminals. However, actual container deliveries perform poorly with less than a one in two chance that your cargo will arrive on time at the customer,” he adds.
A variety of challenges exist - from structural congestion in African ports to poor customs procedures, security concerns, and industrial action. “If you contrast the remarkable progress achieved in the construction of the second canal at Suez or the new rail link between Addis Ababa and Djibouti with reduced draught in Durban, the traffic gridlock on the Apapa-Oshodi expressway and a constant two-week wait to berth at Douala, we believe there is a need to provide shippers with true information to facilitate trade to and from Africa.” Shieh said.
‘Lines and terminals not entirely to blame for delays’
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