Not the whole story

It is, though, a rather one-dimensional statement on what Maersk defines as Operational Constraints in Key Regions in an 11 January Customer Advisory. In fact, although no one is shouting it from the rooftops, it has come in for more criticism than that. One view is that it is a convenient statement which basically amounts to passing the buck. Another is that theory does not go into practice and the example is given of a dedicated berth for Maersk/MSC left empty for two days as a result of vessel rerouting.

At the very least, there do appear to be grounds to say that the statement issued is based more on ‘effect’ than ‘cause.’ At one level it is accurate to point the finger at ports in Asia, North America and Europe and identify them as congestion points, but we all know it is not the whole story.

The inference from the Advisory is that it is the ports that are the cause of disruptive blockages in the supply chain – that due to lockdown factors, staff shortages resulting from COVID-19 or inadequate capacity or methods of working they are the generator of problems. But its not as simple as that; and isn’t it just a bit too convenient to say that: “…we are working closely with all respective port authorities and coordinating with all involved parties in the local supply chain to help alleviate the situation?”

At an operational level, for example, a major problem certain ports face is the clearing of empties which are clogging up their respective terminal systems. The Port of Long Beach on January 25 reported that 47 per cent of the resident container population was accounted for by empties, units which if removed would go a long way towards easing the log jam. Doubtless more can be done by lines in this respect – more sweeper vessels for example – but do such exceptional efforts sit high on the agenda when vessel deployments can be made to achieve big profits elsewhere?

Which brings me to the point raised in my Strategist column (p19). The liner sector is in receipt of huge profits but there is little evidence yet of these bonanza earnings being used to assist a struggling ports sector, unless of course it’s with company affiliated terminal divisions. With more power concentrated in fewer hands in the liner sector a tight lid is being maintained on the port sector’s earning power. It is relevant to ask, is this appropriate today in such challenging circumstances and equally given the large-scale investment that has to be undertaken to service the huge number of new high-capacity vessels on order?