The major port in the Middle East is completely paralyzed, and ships have to wait for a month to berth
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As a large number of goods that originally entered the Gulf region through the Strait of Hormuz were rerouted through the Saudi land bridge, the Port of Jeddah, the gateway to the Red Sea, is experiencing unprecedented operational pressure and facing the most serious congestion crisis in recent years.
The port yard is close to being saturated, the waiting time for ships to berth has been significantly lengthened, trucks are queuing up about 5 kilometers outside the port area, and the pick-up period for some goods has been extended to 6 to 8 weeks. Many shipping companies have adjusted their transportation plans. Among them, Hapag-Lloyd has suspended some Jeddah-related operations, and Maersk has switched to other ports for transit to alleviate current operational pressure.
A large number of goods were rerouted and Jeddah Port became a congestion center
Although Iran, the United States and Israel have agreed to suspend hostilities and negotiate a resolution to the conflict that broke out in February this year, market demand for avoiding risks in the Strait of Hormuz has not weakened significantly.
As an alternative, a large number of goods originally destined for the Gulf region are transported through the Saudi land bridge, enter Saudi Arabia through the Red Sea gateway Jeddah Port, and then are transported by land to Gulf countries. This model attracted a large amount of cargo in a short period of time, putting Jeddah Port under throughput pressure far exceeding normal levels. Meanwhile, seasonal increases in import volumes during the Hajj period further exacerbate port congestion.
The waiting time for ships to berth has increased sharply, with the longest waiting time exceeding one month.
Recently, many freight forwarders have reported that there has been a serious waiting phenomenon at Jeddah Port. Industry insiders said that some ships have been waiting for more than 20 days, and in some cases even close to a month. In addition to longer waiting times, route stability has also declined significantly.
At present, except for some sailings in early July, the next sailing may have to wait until early August. There will be a month-long sailing gap in the middle, resulting in the inability of empty containers to return in time, further affecting the transportation capacity turnover. Public operating data shows that the median waiting time for ships to berth at Jeddah Port has increased from about 0.17 days before the crisis to 3.93 days, an increase of more than 20 times.
The yard utilization rate reaches 90%, and the waiting time for picking up the boxes is up to 8 weeks.
The continued high-load operation of the port has caused the pressure on the yard to rise rapidly. At present, the utilization rate of the Jeddah Port yard has reached about 90%, and the overall operating efficiency of the terminal has dropped by about 20% to 25%. In addition to the impact on terminal loading and unloading capacity, there is also a serious backlog in administrative links such as customs inspection, customs clearance, shipping company release of goods, and port document processing.
Local transportation companies said that currently it may take 6 to 8 weeks just to pick up the boxes. The residence time of containers at the port has been significantly extended, and some backlogged goods have been unable to be successfully lifted out of the yard after staying in the yard for more than two weeks.
Trucks queued for about 5 kilometers outside the port, and some vehicles waited for three days to enter the port.
Port congestion has spread to land transportation. Videos provided by local transportation companies showed that a large number of container trucks were queuing up outside the port area, waiting to enter the port to pick up and return containers. The fleet stretched for about 5 kilometers. Transportation companies said that some vehicles had to queue for about three days in a row before entering the port area for operations. The efficiency of land bridge transportation has dropped significantly, further affecting the operation of the entire supply chain.
Shipping companies adjust transportation plans, Hapag-Lloyd suspends related operations
Faced with the worsening congestion situation, shipping companies began to adjust their operating strategies. Hapag-Lloyd has informed customers that its cross-border trailer transport service via land transport in Jeddah to the northern part of the Gulf will be suspended from now on until further notice.
For containers loaded on ships bound for Jeddah, if the final destination port of the bill of lading is not Jeddah, the relevant goods will no longer be unloaded in Jeddah, but will be unloaded at other ports to reduce the pressure on the Jeddah Port yard. However, goods whose final destination is in Saudi Arabia can continue to be unloaded at the Port of Jeddah and then transported to the final destination through the existing land bridge network.
At the same time, Maersk has adjusted its transportation plan. Some goods will first be transited through Khor Fakkan and Salalah ports, then transported to Sharjah via land bridge, and then connected to the branch line network in the Gulf region for transportation to the final destination port. Freight forwarders recommend that customers avoid Jeddah and instead use transit ports in the direction of the Arabian Sea to complete transshipment through ports such as Salalah, Khor Fakkan, and Sharjah.
Impacts and responses that cargo owners need to pay attention to
The current congestion at Jeddah Port has had a chain impact on the supply chain: shipping delays have intensified, some voyages have been canceled or jumped to the port, and transportation timeliness is difficult to guarantee; extended container detention time may result in higher detention fees and demurrage fees; land bridge transportation capacity is becoming saturated, and inland distribution cycles are further lengthened; goods with high timeliness requirements such as fresh food and cold chain are facing greater quality and delivery risks.
In response to the current situation at Jeddah Port, Maersk has implemented a special container-free period policy of up to 15 days for some eligible containers. Relevant cargo owners can confirm with the shipping company or freight forwarder in a timely manner whether it is applicable.
We still need to pay attention to the recovery situation of the port in the future. As the demand for land bridge transportation continues to be high and the backlog of goods has not been fully digested, it will still take time for Jeddah Port to resume normal operations. For cargo owners who plan to ship to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region in the near future, they should pay close attention to the latest notices from shipping companies and port operation dynamics, and promptly evaluate whether to adjust routes or choose other transit ports based on cargo timeliness requirements to reduce supply chain risks.
