Suddenly! Two major ports paralysed! Vessels are severely delayed. Massive backlogs of cargo.
Ports on the west coast of India, particularly the port of Mundra, have suffered operational disruptions, vessel delays and cargo backlogs due to surges in cargo volumes and extreme weather. Recovery could take a week or more, as the weather continues to affect the port. The plight of the port of Mundra is affecting the regional supply chain in a ripple effect, with the port of Nawabsheva also facing severe traffic congestion.
Ports on India's west coast, particularly the container transport hub of Mundra Port, are facing unprecedented operational pressures. This challenge stems not only from capacity constraints due to continued growth in cargo volumes, but is also compounded by extreme weather events that cause severe disruptions to port operations.
The port of Mundra, a key node for the country's containerised trade, was hit hard last week as heavy rains and floods battered India's coastal areas. Shipping companies reported that vessels at the port suffered severe delays and the entire shipping system was paralysed for at least three days due to the floods, leading to a huge backlog of cargo.
Adani Port (APSEZ) is working hard to clear the backlog of cargo and is endeavouring to restore normal berthing of vessels. However, due to the continued impact of the weather, it is expected that the recovery of cargo flow may take a week or more.
To cope with the current difficulties, the port of Mundra is said to be prioritising the berthing of export-focused vessels to alleviate some of the pressure. Meanwhile, with more than half of the port's cargo relying on rail transport or Inland Container Depot (ICD) transhipment, the normal operation of rail services has also been affected, with a backlog of inbound trains, but the port has confirmed that it is working to clear the stranded trains.
In addition, due to their partnership with Adani's terminal in Mundra, MSC and Duffy Marine vessels appear to have priority berthing, while other shipping lines are facing longer waiting times, and some have even opted to skip the port or divert to other coastal ports, including the COSCO Philippine, which bypassed Mundra last week.
The problems at the Mundra port have also triggered a chain reaction in the regional supply chain. Truckers and terminal owners at the port of Navasheva (JNPA) have expressed frustration at the escalating delays in the movement of goods in and out of the port in recent days, and have called on the authorities to intervene to resolve the problem as soon as possible. The recently implemented road traffic restrictions, though aimed at streamlining the movement of vehicles, have unexpectedly increased traffic congestion in the JNPA area, with truckers reporting that it takes up to 20 hours to turn their vehicles around.
Stakeholders such as the Container Freight Stations Association of India (CFSA) have also expressed concern over the frequent closure of roads in the JNPA area, leading to severe disruptions and backlogs of cargo, pointing out that exports are being blocked and imports delayed, which puts immense pressure on transport companies and drivers to honour their commitments to customers.
Notably, despite the many challenges, cargo volumes at the Port of Nawasawa continue to grow, hitting a new monthly high of 639,336 TEUs in August, a significant increase over the same period in 2023.
Sunny Worldwide Logistics has more than 20 years of freight forwarding history,and over half of staffs working in Sunny about 5-13years.Emergency solutions must be offered with 30 minutes if any. You may not find other companies like us in Shenzhen.
