Warning bells sound over global port congestion

IT USED to be mainly third world ports that attracted congestion surcharges due to inadequate infrastructure and systems, but with the phenomenal increase in global shipping, ports everywhere are facing similar problems. Last week Maersk Line chief executive Eivind Kolding warned that more discipline and assistance was required from European shippers. “Congestion is going to get worse. That’s for certain,” he told the European Shippers’ Council, saying that volumes would double in the next eight years creating tighter berthing windows and restricted terminal space. According to Kolding the success of the liner industry will depend more and more on shifting cargo to and from hinterlands which will require greater discipline and flexibility from shippers. And in a message that might sound familiar to South African shippers, he called for improved information exchanges with shippers and asked for longer term volume forecasts in order that carriers could plan better. Shippers must also be prepared to make deliveries and pick ups during off-peak times including at night to avoid congestion. Kolding pointed out that fuel charges had risen by US$180 per 40ft container during 2007 and that shipping lines were being forced to pass on some of these increasing fuel costs. “We are fooling ourselves if we think a low-margin business like container shipping can sustain these extreme rises,” he said. Kolding’s warning coincided with the news that the Far Eastern Freight Conference (FEFC) was raising a $145 per teu surcharge on inbound containers arriving in the UK from December 1. Analysts agree the reason for the congestion facing almost all ports is simple – too many containers and insufficient forward planning by port and inland transportation administrations. As one ship owner put it rather succinctly, “we build new super-sized ships in a matter of months, but it takes years to expand a port.”