Bollore provides update on Red Sea situation
The current situation in the Red Sea has led the major shipping lines to reroute a majority of containerships through the Cape of Good Hope.
This represents more than 350 vessels and close to 5 million TEUS over a two weeks’ period. While some carriers are currently considering a partial return to the Suez canal, the situation remain highly volatile and some important disruptions are to be expected in the coming weeks.
Bollore have listed a number of elements that are likely to impact the supply chain of our customers:Transit time extended by 10 to 20 days; Extra delays due to refueling at Africa ports; Extra delays due to Port congestion at arrival both sides; Container imbalance leading to lack of equipment ahead of Lunar New Year peak season; Increased capacity constraint.
A combination of surcharges and increases meant to cover the extended journey, insurance premiums, Bolloré Logistics is closely monitoring the list of diverted vessels to keep its customers informed on impacted shipments. All our teams are deployed to coordinate container movements at origin and destination in order to limit delays to the strict minimum. Do not hesitate to reach out to them for any clarification.
This situation should also have a direct impact on other modes of transport: Rail: We start to see an significant increase in rail bookings from China to Europe and back. Though a great alternative, we expect this mode to become quicky saturated; Air: The increased ocean transit times shall put pressure on inventories and have an immediate repercussion on Airfreight capacities, with significant price hikes expected on major trades.
With Bollore’s constant commitment to provide you with the most adapted solutions in a disrupted environment, they have increased their rail solutions Europe/China & China/Europe. Bollore have as well anticipated additional air freight capacity between mid-January and early February ex-China.
The team is full engaged to help our customers go through this new period of disruption and propose them solutions to limit its impact on their supply chain.
