Suez Canal blockage will cause at least 10 ships' worth of late cargo to Virginia ports

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) -- While Monday's freeing of a massive container ship from the Suez Canal happened literally on the other side of the world, its effects will be felt in Hampton Roads.

Ten container ships scheduled to offload cargo with the Port of Virginia in April became caught up in the logjam at the Suez Canal, a spokesperson for the port said Monday. Several additional vessels decided to go around Africa to reach their destinations and circumvent the canal closure.

All of this will add extended travel times and as a result delays.

"The canal has capacity to efficiently clear the backlog of waiting vessels, but those ships will not be able to recover their schedules after this delay, meaning some of April’s cargo (for Virginia) will be late to arrive," said Joe Harris, with Port of Virginia. "Virginia will still receive the vessels/cargo, but they will be pushed more toward the end of April, or possibly into early May."

The obstruction, caused when the 220,000-ton vessel Ever Given was blown by strong winds and ran aground, has created a massive traffic jam in the vital passage, holding up $9 billion each day in global trade and straining supply chains already burdened by the coronavirus pandemic.

Harris said the arrival of the delayed vessels along with regularly scheduled ones may create some “bunching,” but maintains the team at the port is up to the challenge.

An average of nearly 260,000 TEUs (twenty-foot-equivalent units) have been processed during the first two months of 2021, which is more than a 19 percent increase when compared with last year, Harris said.

from WAVY.com https://ift.tt/2PGPbq0