A “cautious” Hapag-Lloyd has warned it will not accept bookings if port congestion leaves cargo “stranded” at transhipment hubs, leaving Canadian forwarders struggling to secure space to the Middle East.
In a briefing yesterday by Hapag-Lloyd and the Canadian port of St John, one forwarder said “many in Canada are experiencing challenges securing space to key Middle East destinations until late June to early July”.
And the forwarder asked: “What concrete steps are being taken to increase routing options and booking availability to improve access for Canadian exporters?”
“This is a question I was asked a lot when I was in Toronto a few weeks back,” replied Hapag-Lloyd’s director of sales Canada, Matt Montanaro.
“The issue is quite simple; it has been well reported and documented. There are some congestion issues at some of the major ports in Europe, including Tangier, Rotterdam, Antwerp – and this congestion is real.
“The reality is that we took the stance that we will not accept bookings if we know your cargo will be stranded at a transhipment port. It is very simple.
“We prefer being up front… giving you the option to book should there be options elsewhere versus taking the booking and then having that box stranded at a terminal, and for which we cannot give you an ETA to final destination,” added Mr Montanaro.
A spokesperson for Hapag-Lloyd said: “This is a policy specifically for Canada and just to Middle East destinations, so it is not a global policy. We are keeping tighter controls of allocation and connectivity across the network to avoid accepting bookings that will be stranded at connecting ports.
But he said Hapag-Lloyd could see the situation “slightly improving” after “at least another month or so”.
Hapag-Lloyd operates its AL1 service from St John as part of the Gemini Cooperation with Danish carrier Maersk.
“This weekly service provides direct service with the Europe trade as well as connecting services with other trades such as Asia, Middle East and Africa. A key advantage for the St John call is that it is the last export portal loading for the AL1, resulting in the shortest transit times to Europe,” explained Mr Montanaro.
He said Hapag-Lloyd expected to resume booking send of June/early July.
According to the eeSea database, a shipper’s only option from Canada’s east coast to the Middle East without transhipment is MSC’s weekly Indus Express service, which deploys 13 vessels, averaging 5,700 teu, on a 91-day round-trip between Halifax and Jebel Ali.
