News / Colombo port congestion: 50,000 teu logjam drives delays and rate hikes

A backlog of 50,000 teu at the port of Colombo is causing chaos for South Asian transhipment cargo.

The capital of Sri Lanka has been under a Covid-lockdown for the past couple of weeks, while a labour shortage at the city’s container terminals has caused congestion since early October.

Now the bottleneck is impacting supply chains in neighbouring India and Bangladesh.

Rohan Masakorala, chief executive of Shippers’ Academy Colombo, said the port of Colombo’s workforce had been reduced by around 30%, resulting in ...