© Joris Herregods
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The shipping companies Maersk and MSC are canceling Antwerp this summer as a stop on one of their regular joint services. Antwerp is hit hard by the worldwide crowds.
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Maersk and MSC share each other’s ships in the so-called 2M alliance. This happens, for example, on the ‘service’ AE55. Just like De Lijn has regular bus lines with fixed stops, this service sails between the Far East and Northern Europe, with stops in Antwerp, among other places.
But the 2M partners will cancel the call-up in Antwerp in the next six weeks. “Due to high density on the yard (the container square near a quay, ed.) and exceptional waiting times in Antwerp, Maersk has decided to cancel the AE55 service Antwerp and (Northern French, ed.) Le Havre for the next six voyages.”
The shipping companies now group freight for Antwerp on a different line.
Busy
Extra corona freight (think of extra laptops, headsets, office chairs, …), disrupted sailing schedules, etc., have been causing problems worldwide for some time. Delays also have a self-reinforcing effect. Export containers that do not move away from a terminal also stand in the way of efficiently handling incoming containers.
“That congestion is worldwide, indeed,” says Michel Marstboom, Managing Director of Maersk Line Belgium. “I recently read that there are 340 ships somewhere waiting to dock at any time. The exponentially increased demand, but sometimes also corona measures that make terminals a little less productive, give that snowball effect. What will it be like after those six weeks? That is looking at coffee grounds.”
Wait five days
According to Marstboom, Antwerp has held up quite well in terms of volumes. “In terms of congestion, it’s not that bad here. We are talking about waiting times of five days. In American ports this is two weeks, in African ports three weeks. But five days is already a lot, for example because of the cost price for chartering container ships. And also: more containers on the water also amplify the shortage of containers on land.”
By way of illustration, renting a ship for one day with space for 8,500 containers cost about 25,000 euros in 2020. In 2021, that increased to more than double.
ALSO READ: Port of Antwerp benefits from Brexit
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