Maersk has annouced, that its vessels, crew and customers’ cargo, all vessels previously due to transit the Red Sea area have been diverted south around the Cape of Good Hope for the foreseeable future.
At Maersk’s key ports in the south of Europe, terminals are showing a stable performance with good operational outcomes. Port of Tangier saw an increase in capacity with the recent expansion that became fully operational on 1 January this year. At the same time, terminal yard in Algeciras will need to undergo repairs, resulting in a reduced yard space.
Winter weather conditions as well as the Red Sea contingencies are expected to affect operations across Europe and Hub terminals.
To avoid longer transit times for cargo redirected around the Cape of Good Hope, Maersk teams have worked on securing Sea-Air coverage via Dubai and Salalah, which can help minimise delays in customers’ supply chains.
Customers can make use of ‘in-transit’ mode of transportation change, whereby if they have cargo on vessels calling Salalah or Jebel Ali ports, they can transfer it to a Sea-Air shipment and use air fright to reach its final destination in Europe or the US.
Current challenges will also have an effect on supply chains out of Europe, where Air-Sea offering that extends via Singapore to Asia and Australia can help get ahead of potential delays.