The severe flooding in Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic has affected the transport network’s local infrastructure, including container facilities.
German ocean carrier Hapag-Lloyd has announced the flooding has already affected its container depots, which may result in operational delays in the affected regions.
“Whilst we continue to accept your bookings for the coming weeks, we ask for your understanding that container releases in the above areas may be delayed due to the ongoing situation,” said the company in a customer advisory.
The Hamburg-based firm noted that it is working on restoring normal operations “as quickly as possible”.
In its latest update, one of the major global freight forwarders Kuehne+Nagel said the Ostrava terminal in the Czech Republic will be fully accesibe by rail once again today after the closure due to severe floods in the previous days.
“Preparations are underway for the first Ceska Trebova – Ostrava route train, scheduled to depart on 20 September,” confirmed K+N. “Normal operations in Ostrava are expected to resume over the weekend, reinstating services routed through the Ostrava terminal.”
However, the global forwarder noted that while traffic has resumed on most Austrian routes, the situation remains uncertain for services via Austria’s Krems terminal. According to Kuehne+Nagel, infrastructure managers in the city have yet to confirm the passability of the lines, leaving some services limited.