Deepsea cargo vessels ‘at port’ so far this month represent 30.6% of capacity, according to port congestion indices compiled by Clarkson Research, Seatrade Maritime reports.

This is down from the 32.1% average over the first half of this year but still above the 2016-19 average of 29.7%.

However, a breakdown of the figures reveals significant differences between ship sectors.

In containers, for example, where congestion has caused major problems in regions including China, both coasts of the US and UK Continent, 33.9% of the fleet has been at port (in port or in an associated anchorage) so far this month, down from a record monthly figure of 37.2% in July and easing back towards the 2016-19 average of 31.6%.

Disruption remains elevated, however, with capacity at port on the east coast of North America more than double the pre-Covid average, Clarkson said. Comparable figures for North America west coast so far in October are +66%, UK Continent +56%, and China +21%, the publication reports.

Click here for the full article.