News / South African port congestion sees queue of 96 ships at anchor

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Severe congestion in South Africa’s ports is forcing shipping lines to omit the country from their services.

Currently 96 vessels are waiting at anchor outside ports, costing the economy R98m ($5.32m) a day, according to the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF).

Maersk is among the lines skipping calls; earlier today it warned of long waiting times at Durban and noted that “CMA has triggered a Cape Town omission on the APL Houston eastbound voyage due to berthing congestion in Cape ...