Port Congestion | Week 21 Line-Up Severe Congestion at Jebel Ali, Brazil May Face Another Strike on June港口拥堵 | 21 周 line-up 杰贝阿里严重拥堵 巴西6月3日或再罢工

Severe Congestion at Jebel Ali

杰贝阿里严重拥堵

Port congestion in the Middle East continues to draw global attention.

According to DHL’s Global Ocean Freight Port Situation Update – May 2026, released in late May, both Jebel Ali Port in the UAE and King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, remain under severe congestion pressure.

Both ports are currently classified as “red” status ports, with cargo delays exceeding five days.

For the market, this is no longer simply a short-term operational issue. Jebel Ali is one of the Middle East’s most important transshipment hubs, while Dammam is a key industrial and energy logistics gateway in the Gulf region. Once delays at these ports begin to extend, the impact can quickly spread across feeder services, regional relay cargoes, and inland distribution networks throughout the Middle East.

Under the current backdrop of heightened security concerns around the Strait of Hormuz and continued operational disruptions in Gulf shipping lanes, persistent congestion at major regional hubs is further reducing schedule reliability across the region.

中东港口拥堵持续成为全球焦点。根据DHL 5月下旬发布的《2026年5月全球海运港口情况更新》，阿联酋杰贝阿里港（Jebel Ali）和沙特达曼港（King Abdulaziz Port/Dammam）目前仍处于严重拥堵状态，两大港口均被标记为“红色”，货运延误时间已超过5天。

Brazil May Face Another Strike on June 3

巴西6月3日或再罢工

Brazil’s nationwide port strike proceeded as scheduled on May 20, although the action later triggered divisions within labor unions.

Following a meeting held in Brasília on May 21, some union leaders suspended participation in the strike. The president of the National Federation of Stevedores stated that if negotiations are offered, the dialogue process must be taken seriously.

However, unions also warned that if port workers’ demands fail to progress, another 24-hour nationwide strike is already planned for June 3.

The timing is particularly sensitive because Brazilian ports were already operating under severe pressure even before the strike began.

• Santos Port average waiting time: approximately 116 hours (nearly 5 days)
• Vila do Conde waiting time: approximately 242 hours (more than 10 days)
• Multiple ports nationwide: vessel queues exceeding 96 hours

The strike directly affected core operations such as container handling and customs clearance, further extending vessel waiting times and increasing cargo backlogs.

巴西罢工如期在5月20日举行，但行动在工会内部引发分歧。在5月21日巴西利亚召开会议后，部分工会领导停止了行动。全国装卸工联合会主席表示，如果罢工被号召，而有人邀请谈判对话，就必须重视谈判进程。如果港口工人的诉求得不到推进，另一次24小时罢工已计划于6月3日举行。

罢工前巴西港口运营本就处于高压状态，桑托斯港平均等泊约116小时（近5天），孔迪镇港等泊更高达242小时（超10天），全国多个港口船舶排队超96小时。罢工直接冲击了集装箱装卸和货物通关等核心环节，进一步拉长了船舶待港周期、加剧了货物滞留。

Paranaguá Under Particular Pressure

DHL’s report specifically highlighted Paranaguá Port as one of the most heavily pressured ports in Brazil.

Along the Atlantic coast of Latin America, several countries are already experiencing delays of 2–5 days, combined with:

• Equipment shortages
• Inland transportation bottlenecks
• Localized severe congestion

At the same time, Brazil is currently entering peak export season for major commodities such as soybeans and sugar.

As export demand collides with strike disruptions and existing port congestion, multiple cargo vessels have reportedly been forced to divert or delay berthing schedules. Customs clearance and quarantine procedures are also taking longer.

For bulk carriers and agricultural commodity traders, this combination of labor disruptions and export-season pressure is becoming an increasingly important operational risk factor.

巴拉那瓜港压力尤其突出：DHL报告特别指出，巴西巴拉那瓜港（Paranaguá）的压力尤为突出。拉美市场大西洋沿岸部分国家持续出现2至5天延误，同时伴随设备短缺、内陆运输瓶颈以及局部严重拥堵。

巴西大豆、食糖等大宗商品出口高峰期与罢工和原有压港叠加，多艘货轮被迫改港或延迟靠泊，通关与检疫耗时同步攀升。

African Ports

Benin – Port of Cotonou

Average vessel waiting time is approximately 4.89 days.

Ghana – Tema Port

Average vessel waiting time is around 4.5 days.

Berth limitations, crane breakdowns, and yard congestion are affecting berthing schedules and causing delays.

Guinea – Port of Conakry

Average vessel waiting time has reached approximately 11.3 days.

The port is experiencing severe congestion, with limited storage capacity and shortages of empty containers. Mitigation measures currently include continuous truck rotation operations.

Côte d’Ivoire – Port of Abidjan

Average vessel waiting time is approximately 5.67 days.

High berth utilization and ongoing congestion, combined with road traffic pressure, are negatively affecting port operations. Risks of scheduling delays remain elevated, and knock-on disruptions may spread into inland transport corridors.

Kenya – Port of Mombasa

Average vessel waiting time is approximately 3.78 days.

Long-term terminal congestion continues, while equipment shortages and high transshipment volumes moving inland are reducing operational efficiency.

Reports also indicate clustering of vessel arrivals and increased off-window arrivals, while empty container imbalances remain unresolved.

Mauritius – Port Louis

Cloudy weather, intermittent rainfall, and strong wind showers may temporarily disrupt operations.

Mozambique – Port of Beira

Average vessel waiting time is approximately 12.2 days.

Terminal recovery operations are expected to continue into Weeks 32–33.

Intermittent strong winds and rainfall are forecast during the remainder of the week and may continue affecting port productivity.

Nigeria – Apapa Port

Severe road congestion and truck queues remain critical bottlenecks.

Berthing delays are expected, and temporary schedule adjustments may occur.

Congestion Is No Longer Isolated

What makes the current situation notable is not simply that individual ports are congested.

The broader issue is that congestion pressure is now appearing simultaneously across multiple regions:

• Middle Eastern transshipment hubs
• South American agricultural export corridors
• African gateway ports
• Inland transport systems

And many of these bottlenecks are occurring during periods of:

• Geopolitical uncertainty
• Seasonal commodity export peaks
• Equipment shortages
• Labor disputes
• Weather disruptions

For shipowners and operators, this increasingly means that voyage planning can no longer rely solely on nominal transit schedules.

Port productivity, inland logistics resilience, labor stability, and regional security conditions are all becoming critical variables in determining real voyage duration and effective fleet capacity.

非洲港口

贝宁科托努：平均船舶等待时间为约4.89天。

加纳特马港：平均船舶等待时间为约4.5天。泊位限制、起重机故障和堆场拥堵正在影响船舶靠泊计划，导致靠泊时间延误。

几内亚科纳克里：船舶平均等待时间约为11.3天。港口严重拥堵船舶等待时间较长，仓储容量有限且空箱数量不足;缓解措施包括持续安排卡车进行循环作业。

科特迪瓦阿比让：船舶平均等待时间约为5.67天。高船坞利用率和拥堵状况，加之道路拥堵，正对港口作业造成不利影响。出现调度延误的风险较高，潜在的连锁性干扰可能波及内陆运输走廊。

肯尼亚蒙巴萨：船舶平均等待时间约为3.78天。长期码头拥堵状况持续存在，设备短缺和高额转口量涌入内陆市场导致生产效率下降。有报告称存在船舶扎堆和窗口外抵达现象，同时空箱失衡问题也仍在延续。

毛里求斯路易港：出现阴天、间歇性降雨和强风阵雨，可能导致运营中断。

莫桑比克贝拉：船舶平均等待时间大约为12.2天。预计码头恢复工作将于第32至33周期间进行。本周余下时间内预计将持续出现间歇性的阵风和降雨，这可能会对运营活动造成一定影响。

尼日利亚阿帕帕：严重的道路拥堵和卡车排队仍然是关键瓶颈。预计停泊延误，可能有临时调整日程的情况。