Congestion at South Africa's Port of Durban is affecting downstream schedule arrangements. As of late August, some voyages at the Durban Gateway Terminal (DGT, formerly Durban Container Terminal Pier 2) have been delayed by about 10 days, and some shipping lines have warned customers of delays of up to about 20 days. To avoid further schedule slippage, Maersk and CMA CGM have adjusted some voyages and canceled subsequent calls at Port Louis, Mauritius.

However, the latest situation has also shown some improvement. An industry report on August 27 showed that DGT yard pressure has begun to ease, but vessel queues and reefer container backlogs remain prominent. The terminal operating system has returned to stability, but that does not mean cargo flow has returned to normal.

Schedule delays; containers may still be unavailable after discharge

According to The Loadstar on August 25, DGT's operating capacity was significantly constrained, with some voyages delayed by about 10 days and individual services even further behind schedule. Some shipping lines have advised customers to prepare for delays of up to 20 days.

Local freight forwarders reported that some containers discharged on August 11 had still not left the terminal by August 25. This shows the current bottleneck is not limited to berths; storage after discharge, container pickup appointments, and landside evacuation are also affected.

Different statistical scopes need to be distinguished here. Portcast data shows that from August 16 to 22, the median pre-berth waiting time at Durban port was 3.29 days, with a congestion level of "high." This indicator does not include all at-berth operations or post-discharge pickup time, nor is it the total delay of all DGT voyages. It therefore cannot be directly compared with the 10-day delays and 20-day warnings reported by the industry, and the 20 days cannot be regarded as a port-wide uniform waiting time. Source: Portcast

The cancellations are subsequent Port Louis calls

Durban's delays have spread to other ports. According to South African shipping outlet Freight News, Maersk announced on August 7 that the "Maersk Stockholm" voyage 632N and "CMA CGM Missouri" voyage 633N would cancel eastbound calls at Port Louis to protect their subsequent arrival schedules at Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysia.

Cargo originally loaded in Durban and bound for Port Louis and related island destinations will be transshipped via Tanjung Pelepas. Earlier, the "CMA CGM Volga" voyage 631N also canceled its Port Louis call due to DGT equipment failure and operational delays.

These adjustments do not mean carriers are collectively bypassing Durban; rather, they aim to reduce the impact of Durban delays on the entire rotation and shorten subsequent calls. For affected shippers, original transport arrangements have changed, and delivery times need to be reconfirmed.

System stabilized, backlog still being cleared

DGT previously carried out a Navis N4 terminal operating system switchover, during which some landside operations were suspended. After resumption, the backlog still needed to be processed. Industry reports showed that from August 10 to 16, the terminal handled about 25,800 TEU, down 26% week on week. Insufficient equipment availability, yard congestion, and poor vessel-shore coordination also limited the pace of recovery.

On August 26, DGT Chief Operating Officer Grant Bahlmann said in a customer letter that the Navis system implementation had been completed and remained stable, but the backlog formed earlier had not yet been cleared. The terminal is currently prioritizing faster evacuation of import cargo, freeing yard space, and gradually restoring normal operations.

The letter also announced a temporary storage fee waiver for containers still in the terminal at that time, until operations return to an acceptable stable level. The specific scope should be subject to terminal notices; it should not be assumed that other charges such as carrier detention fees are also waived.

Yard improves, recovery remains uneven

On August 27, Freight News cited a South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) report saying DGT's overall yard occupancy had fallen from 89.2% on August 25 to 73.8%, and the number of import containers awaiting road evacuation had also declined.

But reefer yard occupancy remained at 110%, and vessel waiting pressure has not obviously eased. Faster import container evacuation has freed up space, but equipment, vessel handling, and reefer processing still need to improve simultaneously. Source: August 27 operational update

For cargo recently imported, exported, or transshipped through Durban, the focus should shift from "when will the ship arrive" to "when can it berth, discharge, and pick up containers." Shippers and forwarders need to recheck the latest schedules, pickup appointments, and all free time periods, and for time-sensitive cargo, evaluate options such as port changes, transshipment, and inland transport in advance.

At present, Durban port is showing signs of recovery, but congestion cannot yet be considered cleared. What deserves the most attention next is whether the backlog can continue to decline and whether normal container pickup and vessel turnaround can truly resume.

Source: Shipping Network
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