Suez canal block- how will it impact cargo? 

Fast facts

• Passages/vessels per week +30

• Equating to approximately 380,000 TEUs per week, or 55,000 TEUs per day

• 3 days without passage means 165,000 TEUs that are delayed

So where does this lead us? The knock on effects we will likely see from the Suez Canal Evergreen blockage are delayed cargo, not only for those in-transit but for those at port ready to load and even those ready for collection at origin warehouse. On this, if you have cargo at port or in the warehouse, Hillebrand may be able to offer you alternative routings and/or modes of transport in order to get your shipment to destination on-time.

We’ll also see port congestion rising in the coming weeks as a result of the Suez Canal traffic jam. Cargo stacking up at quayside awaiting loading will cause congestion, which will then be exacerbated by incoming TEUs arriving in quick succession from ships that are stuck in the Suez Canal incident. To manage this, Hillebrand operators will speak directly to cargo owners to keep the flow of information going and build in extra haulage availability to try and move cargo out of port quickly. Which brings us to the next consequence of the Suez Canal Crisis…

In-land haulage. Historically, two things happen when in-land haulage is in demand availability goes down. So what can Hillebrand do here to alleviate the burden? Leverage our long-standing relationships and contracts with contracted hauliers. We are already pre-empting the need for more trucks to be available and negotiating ‘bulk buy’ deals to get our customers cargo moving as swiftly and affordably as possible, once the Suez Canal blockage is, well, unblocked.

It’s times like these why we always advise customers to have cargo insurance for every shipment. The price of the policy is no-where near the cost to your business should an incident happen.

The myHillebrand app will keep you informed of any possible disruptions to your cargo via notifications, status updates and on-time indication through the cargos timeline. Not signed up yet? Click here.

Talk to us anytime about your cargo.