News

Suez Canal update: Short term bookings reinstalled in most trades

Dear customers,

We would like to update you that the queue of vessels waiting at the Suez Canal is reducing as planned and that daily sailings should soon be back to normal. While we still expect an impact on schedules and port calls well into May, as vessels are brought back on their fixed schedules, our teams are working 24/7 to alleviate the knock-on effects of the Suez blockage. The impact is still significant in certain areas, but we have been able to open for short-term bookings again for many of the affected trades.

Having nearly 50 vessels delayed for around a week due to the Suez blockage, either waiting at the Canal or being redirected by the South of Africa, full acceptance of short-term bookings are being determined by port and equipment availability, as well as the timeliness of getting our services back on schedule. As there will be local variations depending on the load port in question, we encourage customers to check short-term availability with our local offices.

We will keep you informed with further updates. For questions on affected vessels or in case you have critical and urgent cargo which has to be shipped, please also be in touch with your local Hamburg Süd representative to search for a solution. Thanks a lot for your understanding in this unexpected situation.

Yours sincerely,
Hamburg Süd

Update: Suez Canal mitigation efforts & changes for short term booking acceptance

Dear customer,

After the “Ever Given” was re-floated and the passage through the Suez Canal started again we expect that it will take approximately a week to move the waiting vessels through the canal. Since more vessels are approaching this might take even longer.

Unfortunately, the blockage of the Suez Canal will have ripple effects on global supply chains over the next weeks. We are doing our utmost to mitigate the impact and contingency plans are still being worked on. However, the loss of capacity over the next weeks should be significant. The same holds true for the equipment situation. Therefore, we advise you to prioritise the most urgent goods to be shipped first.

Furthermore, we would like to inform you about changes for short term bookings in order to address the difficult situation. Where possible we will continue to accept short term bookings. However, for several trade lanes we are forced to temporarily stop the acceptance of bookings via INSTANT as well as short term contracts as of this week and in the immediate future. This applies for the following trade lanes:

• Exports out of Asia: short term acceptance to all markets will be reduced significantly due to expected equipment shortage
• Exports out of West Central Asia to: Europe, North Africa and Latin America via Med
• Exports out of Europe to: Asia, Middle East & Indian Sub-Continent
• Exports out of East Coast South America to: Middle East & Indian Sub-Continent and Asia via transshipment in the Med
• Exports out of Central America / West Coast South America to: Middle East & Indian Sub-Continent

We understand that this is a difficult situation and want to assure you that the booking restrictions are intended to be only temporarily so that we can quickly move the laden cargo and empty containers to the areas where they are most needed.

On all other services and wherever locally available we will accept short term bookings.

We will inform you as soon as the affected trade lanes are available for short term bookings again. For questions on affected vessels or in case you have critical and urgent cargo which has to be shipped, please be in touch with your local Hamburg Süd representative to search for a solution.

Yours sincerely,

Hamburg Süd

29 March 2021, Update: Successful salvage operations

We are glad to inform you that the container vessel “Ever Given” has been fully dislodged in the Suez Canal now. It is expected that the vessel will be moved to the Great Bitter Lake for safe anchorage now. Afterwards, the vessels currently waiting at anchorage in the lake will sail out of the Suez Canal in a convoy.

The canal is not yet free for passage but could be opened again within the next 12-24 hours. The Suez Canal Authority has made preparations for an accelerated transit but it is still unknown when the complete queue of waiting vessels will have passed through the canal. We are monitoring the situation closely. A total of 34 vessels of the joint Maersk and Hamburg Süd fleet as well as partner vessels are waiting at anchorage at the moment.

For the 15 redirected vessels around Cape of Good Hope/South Africa we are currently recalculating if some of them should turn around and continue on their original route. We will share more information as soon as it is available.

Please, don’t hesitate to contact your local Hamburg Süd representative for any questions.

Yours sincerely,

Hamburg Süd

This morning we received reports of good progress in the salvage efforts in the Suez Canal. After several days of dredging and excavation, the ship “Ever Given” has been refloated. However, it is still too early to say when the Suez Canal will be cleared for operations again. We are monitoring the situation closely and will keep you posted when we have more information.

Read the latest customer advisory. (PDF, 472 kB)

Update 26th March 2021

Dear customer,

We would like to give you an update on the situation at the Suez Canal passage which is currently still blocked to vessels in both directions. A container ship operated by Evergreen Marine was knocked off course by strong winds and a sandstorm early Tuesday, March 23.

Whilst efforts to dislodge the Evergreen vessel from the Suez Canal continue, close to two hundred ships are caught up in the traffic jam in both directions. Nine vessels operated in the joint fleet of Maersk and Hamburg Süd plus two partner vessels are affected at the moment. Efforts are being made to move all North bound vessels out of the canal to facilitate a clear passage and continuous convoys when the Evergreen vessel has successfully been released. The Suez Canal Authority will also send 13 smaller vessels to Great Bitter Lake (Ismailia) to minimize the number of vessels waiting at Port Said/Suez for anchorage.

While ETAs are jeopardized as salvage efforts continue, the impact on the global supply chain as a result of the vessel blockage in the Suez Canal depends on how long the route remains impassable. We are closely following the refloating operations and will try to mitigate delays as far as possible in this situation. Your cargo is as important to us as it is for you, and we will continue to keep you informed of all developments.

All customers, whose cargo is directly impacted by the incident, will receive specific information regarding detailed schedule changes and alternative options provided once we have the full overview.

We apologize for the inconvenience this incident may cause to your business and your supply chains.

Please don’t hesitate to contact your local Hamburg Süd representative should you have any further questions.

Yours sincerely,

Hamburg Süd

Update 24th March 2021

Dear Customer,

We would like to inform you of the current situation in the Suez Canal where dozens of vessels are stuck after an EverGreen Marine container ship became wedged across, blocking the canal in both directions.

The incident has already created long tailbacks on the waterway, stopping vessels from passing and causing delays.

Tug boats are working to free the 400m/1312ft-long vessel, which was knocked off course by strong winds. Svitzer, Maersk provider of towage and safety services, is taking part in the ongoing re-float operations as requested by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).

A.P. Moller - Maersk is constantly monitoring the current situation and closely following the refloating efforts of the impacted vessel to further update the accessibility to both south and north bounds.

So far, seven container vessels of the Maersk fleet have been affected; four of them are stuck in the canal system while the rest are waiting to enter the passage:

All customers whose cargo is impacted by the current situation will receive specific information regarding detailed schedule changes and alternative options provided.

Should you have any further questions, please contact your local Hamburg Süd representative.

Sincerely,

Hamburg Süd