A sign of the disruption of container shipping processes is the dumping of cargo in Singapore. This article discusses some of the issues in East Asian ports.
While there’s hope that ocean carriers will divert ships there, we don’t know that it will happen, and with ships tied up waiting at other ports there may not be enough vessels to follow the short-term need.
By Sam Whelan 12/11/2021
Port congestion cascades into intra-Asia services, disrupting container traffic – The Loadstar
Posted in Logistics, Ports, Production Operations, Shipping, Supply Chains
Tagged container shipping, delays, diversions, Logistics, port operations, ports, supply chains
It seems that ocean carriers that own or have an interest in port terminals are getting preferentially served by those terminals. It’s what we would expect. But nowadays, it may mean months of delay for other ships, such as chartered vessels.
Should part of the charter for a terminal be some form of ‘common carrier’ commitment? A requirement to unload ships that present in an order defined by some rule?
There has been lots of study of queues with one or multiple servers, and different size unloading jobs presented, with different priority schemes. It’s classic operations management. It should be possible to define a service policy that would be fair to the facility owner and would help to prevent excessive delays for those in the less preferred categories.
For instance, should a ship waiting for three weeks have preference over a recently arrived ship owned by the line that also has a stake in the terminal? I think ocean carriers and terminals have an interest in seeing that the policy for accepting ships for unloading is clear and fair to all who arrive. If it’s clearly stated, then ship owners and charterers can make estimates of when they will be served at the port, and would choose the port over another that had no policy.
The guesswork of choosing a port begins weeks earlier, at sea, or even when loading the ship. While a ship can be diverted en route, it adds mileage to the trip (and time). If port delays are long and unknown, it becomes impossible to make a reasoned decision; ‘Russian roulette’ for the carrier and cargo owners.
By Mike Wackett 24/11/2021
Berthing challenge for new transpac carriers arriving on the west coast – The Loadstar
Posted in Logistics, Ports, Shipping, Supply Chains
Tagged container shipping, delays, Logistics, ocean shipping, ports, preference, unloading order
Standards for port call activities could provide a basis for a data exchange system for status, and could also provide motivation for a priority basis for specific containers.
There’s currently no message or signaling system allowing all the supply chain partners to move a given container to know the required speed of service. Partners can’t coordinate unless they know precisely which containers need to be moved when.
The standards for service steps in the port would make it easier to determine when a container was behind schedule and expediting was needed to meet the level of service guaranteed.
Of course, the standards proposed by DCSA need to be tried out by ports, and the system needs to be tweaked based on what they find. But it’s a good start.
Sam Chambers November 16, 2021
DCSA publishes framework of just-in-time standards for main port call activities – Splash247
Posted in Logistics, Ports, Production Operations, Supply Chains
Tagged container shipping, DCSA, innovation, Logistics, ports, standards, supply chains, technology, transportation
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