Vessels Passing Through Suez

All ocean carriers have advised that they are rerouting their vessels via the Cape of Good Hope. MSC deviated twenty-nine vessels from different trades on December 14th, 2023. All Maersk vessels in the area bound to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait will pause their journey until further notice, and THE Alliance Carriers (Hapag- Lloyd and Ocean Network Express (ONE)) advised that vessels operating some of the Mediterranean-Asia MD1 and MD3 services will be rerouted.

The impact includes trades from Asia to North America East Coast / Latam East Coast that are currently experiencing delays due to the ongoing drought situation in the Panama Canal.

The situation is very fluid. Please take note of the following expected changes that might affect your cargo planning.

• Transit times on all routes mentioned above will be extended by 10 to 20 days one way.
• Change of future schedules due to vessels not arriving on time, resulting in supply shortages heavily impacting January and February 2024.
• Introduction of surcharges to cope with increasing costs from longer transit times (or heavy insurance add-ons if the carrier decides to take the risk and move via Suez).
• The rate increases will spike starting January 1st, 2024, and during the weeks thereafter.
• US West Coast cargo shift.
• Heavy congestion on the way to / from North America East Coast to / from Asia Pacific via Panama Canal with congestion surcharges implemented and or adjusted upwards.
• Other Contingency routings are under further investigation.

DB Schenker will continue to negotiate and mitigate with carriers and ports and will strictly execute allocation management on behalf of and in support of our clients as we expect space to be super tight.

Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact your local customer service or sales representative to support you.
Thank you for your patience and support.

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Vessels Passing Through Suez