(Too) much time spent in ports
Copenhagen-based maritime intelligence provider Sea-Intelligence used recent data published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and development (Unctad) on port stays of vessels to gain more information about current bottlenecks in the container shipping industry.
Indeed, the median time spent by container vessels in port began to grow sharply in H2/2020, continuing into H1/2021. A quick calculation showed that the median time spent in port in H1/2021 was 11% longer compared to the pre-pandemic average time spent in port in 2018 and 2019.
Particularly in USA, the figures showed a 20% increase in the median time spent in port. In Europe, ports in Germany and France were also heavily impacted, whereas in the Netherlands, UK and Belgium the change was more in line with the global average. China recorded a 12% increase in H1/2021 vs. 2018-2019, comparable to the USA. (cd)