Report: Singapore Port Congestion Mounts as Ships Divert from Red Sea

Linerlytica says port congestion at Singapore has reached a critical stage (file photo)

PUBLISHED MAY 28, 2024 3:51 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

Major carriers have repeatedly warned of the impact the Red Sea diversions are having on their services. In a report from Hong Kong-based market intelligence firm Linerlytica, they warn the diversions are causing the resurgence of port congestion while warning the situation is likely to get worse in the coming month.

Analysts have warned of the extra transit times as vessels are forced to divert around South Africa on their normal Asia to Europe runs. Now with the Houthi threatening further distance, including into the Indian Ocean, carriers have been warned to ensure that their vessels increase the diversions meaning even longer distances and greater travel times.

Linerlytica paints a picture of inter-related issues causing the latest congestion. According to their analysis, Southeast Asia is the worst bottleneck accounting for more than a quarter (26 percent) of congestion while North-Eastern Asia is close behind at 23 percent.

Singapore, however, they believe is the current epicenter of the backlogs. Linerlytica calculates that there are up to 450,000 TEU in the queue for shipping. They warn that vessels are now having to wait up to seven days for a berth at Singapore, versus normal conditions where at most a vessel had a half-day wait for a berth.

Contributing to the backlog is the dramatic increase in transit times for containers coming out of Asia. It has caused the shipping companies to push every available vessel into service and according to Linerlytica will force them to extend their charters. 

Another market intelligence firm, Sea-Intelligence recently reported that transit times on the most popular routes between Asia and Europe were all seeing increases in times but that the worst is to the Mediterranean ports, where in many cases carriers have been transshipping containers through intermedia ports since they are diverting away from the Suez Canal. According to Sea-intelligence, transit times during the first three months of 2024 increased on average by 39 percent on the most popular route pairings between Asia and the Mediterranean while it also only slightly less with a 15 percent increase for the most popular port pairings between Asia and Northern Europe. They report it is worst for the ports in the Eastern Mediterranean where the average minimum transit time increased by 61 to 63 percent, while to the Central Mediterranean average transit times are up by 39 to 40 percent.

The growing congestion at Singapore is also causing other effects says Linerlytica. Vessels are being forced to wait outside associated anchorages and further from port as in the case of Singapore. Carriers trying to manage the longer transit times and growing delays have also elected to skip less busy ports such as Port Klang, Malaysia meaning boxes are piling up or being rerouted to ports such as Singapore which is then strained by the increased volumes. The increase in congestion is also causing vessel bunching at points along the routes.

Globally, Linerlytica estimates that two million TEU of ship capacity, or seven percent of the global fleet, is now caught in congestion. 

As these pressures grow, it is also contributing to sudden increases in shipping costs. Several reports have warned that prices are returning to pandemic levels as a new wave of port congestion moves through segments of the market.

Singapore is Ready for Commercial Methanol Bunkering Operations

Methanol bunkering in Singapore while the X-Press Feeder vessel was also handling containers (X-Press Feeders)

PUBLISHED MAY 27, 2024 5:58 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

Singapore reports that it has completed its preparation and is now ready to offer full-scale commercial operations for the bunkering of methanol as a marine fuel. It joins other ports such as Antwerp and Rotterdam that are now locations for methanol bunkering and it can provide a model for the future adoption of ammonia as a marine fuel.

Two large methanol bunkering operations were completed in Singapore at the end of last week and again today, May 27, establishing the patterns and testing the processes developed by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and government agencies. The port highlights that it began planning for the first methanol bunkering in July 2023 for the Laura Maersk containership including safety training and establishing an Emergency Operations Center. They also did plume modeling and reported they are now completing the technical reference for methanol bunkering.

Today’s bunkering of the ECO Maestro for X-Press Feeders also provided the opportunity to trial the use of the mass flow metering system for methanol and Singapore’s use of digital bunkering. Singapore has been the world’s largest bunker port for traditional fuels and is anxious to maintain its lead by developing alternative fuel options.

The new X-Press Feeders vessel was recently delivered in China as the first of 14 methanol dual-fuel vessels for the company. The ship, which is 13,900 dwt and 660 feet (201 meters) in length has a capacity for approximately 1,200 TEU. It stopped in Singapore before sailing for Cape Town as it heads to Rotterdam which along with Antwerp will be the homeports for X-Press Feeders’ new Northern Europe green routes. The vessel, which was the first of its kind built in China, uses a MAN 5S50 ME dual-fuel engine.

The bunker also marked the first time Singapore has been the location for methanol bunkering simultaneously with container operations. Close to 300 metric tonnes of bio-methanol were loaded from the bunker vessel Kara in a four-hour operation while the vessel was on dock at the Tuas terminal. According to port officials, after completing this operation the port is now ready for commercial methanol bunkering operations.

 

Proman's product tanker bunkered a methanol mix lass week in Singapore's anchorage after her naming ceremony (MPA)

 

Last week, on May 24, the port also saw the bunkering of 1,340 metric tons of a blended methanol mix of 20 percent green/80 percent conventional methanol for the Stena Prosperous (49,000 dwt) product tanker just delivered to Proman. It was a seven-hour operation also undertaken by the Kara in a ship-to-ship operation in the anchorage. Proman highlights the blend will result in a 31 percent tank-to-wake reduction in CO2 emissions.

The Laura Maersk loaded 300 metric tonnes of bio-methanol last summer in the first operation for Singapore conducted while the ship was in a secure part of the anchorage. After that, the port authority issued a tender for which it received 50 submissions from over 60 regional and international companies.

Singapore was also the location for the first two ammonia bunkering operations. Both were undertaken as part of the trials and certification of Fortescue’s pioneering vessel, a converted offshore supply ship that is the first to use ammonia.

Cyprus Terminates Larnaca Port Concession Over Development Dispute

Larnaca is the second largest port on Cyprus and plans called for a large redevelopment (Port of Larnaca)

PUBLISHED MAY 28, 2024 5:56 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

The Government of Cyprus in an ongoing dispute with the long-time leaseholder at the port of Larnaca announced it has terminated the concession and assumed direct management of the port. They immediately issued a statement reassuring that port operations would continue, including the use of the port as the staging area for the relief aid being shipped to the U.S.’s temporary pier in Gaza.

There are big development plans to expand the port and turn it into a major industrial and recreational facility. Larnaca was created in the early 1970s from a historic open anchorage and started commercial operations in 1973. Today, it is the second commercial port behind Lemesos and several smaller marinas and recreational ports on the island. 

Larnaca is a multi-use port that occupies an area of approximately 110 acres on the southern coast. It serves all kinds of cargo from bulk, (feed, grain, plaster) to conventional cargoes such as timber, iron, fertilizers, cars, pipes, as well as petroleum. It also has become a port for cruise ships and ferries.

Kition Ocean Holdings was the long-term lease holder of the port but it had been involved in a legal dispute with the government. The government accused the company of failing to renew a letter of guarantee for the planned reconstruction of the port while the company had been in court for the past few months to force the government to move forward on the agreement. They responded to the news that operations transferred to the Cyprus Port Authority as of midnight May 27 accusing the government of a breach of contract.

 

Redevelopment plan calls for expansion of the commercial port and a new marina (Port of Larnaca)

 

The government and Kition in 2022 agreed on a port redevelopment and marina project for Larnaca valued at approximately $1.2 billion. The plan called for the second largest port in Cyprus to be expanded with 10 piers, a state-of-the-art passenger building, and new environmentally friendly equipment. At the same time, the existing infrastructure of the port was to be upgraded including the piers, internal road network, and storage areas. 

The President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides said today that the expansion project would continue without delay while saying they would also be looking for a capable company to handle the development and operations. He confirmed that there have been discussions with the Emir of Qatar about strategic investments in Cyprus, including possibly the port. He also mentioned his recent meeting with the Chinese ambassador.

The Cyprus Port Authority is now overseeing gate operations, the port perimeter, and ship management. Government officials stressed that operations would continue as normal.