Gemini may be relaunching connections between the Far East and Middle East this weekend, to restore direct ocean links, but after replacing Jebel Ali calls, Khor Fakkan appears to be showing signs of buckling under the pressure.
As reported by The Loadstar yesterday, the relaunched service, marketed as AGX by Hapag-Lloyd and FM1 by Maersk, is set to operate under a revised rotation that sees Khor Fakkan replace Jebel Ali, because of the US-Iran war, but warning signs of congestion have appeared at the Emirati gateway.
A Kuehne+Nagel update that Khor Fakkan and Fujairah “taking on a lot of the volumes shifted to ports outside the Strait of Hormuz in recent months” had led to congestion across the UAE’s corridors, with the two ports now the “main pressure points in the region”.
It added: “Through Fujairah and Khor Fakkan, transit times vary by destination, while final-mile delivery and corridor connectivity remain under the control of UAE government-affiliated logistics providers.
“However, as congestion in Jeddah decreases, we expect cargo flows to redistribute towards alternative gateways, including Jeddah, Aqaba, and Salalah. Looking ahead, we expect Khor Fakkan and Fujairah to remain under significant pressure in the coming weeks.”
This was also recognised by Maersk, which said in its latest operational update: “Vessel congestion and limited berth availability at Khor Fakkan, together with high yard utilisation, road congestion and extended truck waiting times, are delaying cargo clearance.”
Meanwhile, Expeditors has somewhat downplayed the extent of the problem, noting that “UAE gateways remain largely unaffected and outside the Strait risk area”, but nonetheless added that Khor Fakkan and Fujairah were “showing signs of congestion”.
With Gemini’s relaunched service scheduled for 17 October, on its Qingdao-Ningbo-Tanjung Pelepas-Khor Fakkan-Singapore-Qingdao rotation, the congestion issues have raised questions as to how beneficial the additional capacity will prove for shippers.
Maersk said that it would be relocating some boxes to an inland container depot at Sajja, which it hoped would help ease pressure on the port, while it is planning for the possible redirection of some shipments to Jebel Ali.
Even so, cargo arriving at ports still needs to reach its final destination, and hauliers and logistics operators have been crying out for support to provide additional hinterland connectivity, with trucking the most obvious solution.
However accessing that capacity has become a key hurdle, with forwarders telling The Loadstar that, since the outset of the war, this capacity was being “hoovered up” by “forwarders with the biggest pockets, rather than shipments with the most need”.