The congestion has resulted in
extended waiting times at various ports, impacting Maersk’s ability to maintain
regular schedules.
As a
result, Maersk will introduce several blank voyages in the coming weeks,
starting with MSC AMELIA under service AE11, departing from
Qingdao on July 1, 2024, and MSC MIRJAM under service AE15,
departing from Busan on July 2, 2024.
“We understand that this situation
may cause inconvenience and disruption to your supply chain plans, and we
sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused,” Maersk said.
The
congestion-related changes come at a time when container spot rates continue to
rise, with both Drewry’s World Container Index and the Shanghai Container
Freight Index (SCFI) reporting solid increases last week, sustaining their upward
trend in the post-Chinese New Year period.
Industry experts have been
forecasting the ripple effects of reroutings around the Cape of Good Hope for
months. These
include bottlenecks, vessel bunching (where multiple ships arrive at the port
simultaneously), and shortages of equipment and capacity.