Port Congestion Briefing — Week of 22–28 March 2026

60-second executive take

The Middle East remains the biggest network risk, even where individual ports are still operating. Delays and disruptions are still highly likely across the Persian Gulf corridor, and Jebel Ali’s rising wait time shows that the knock-on effects are now visible in port operations as well as routing decisions.
Africa is carrying the heaviest queue pressure in this week’s data. Beira, Conakry, Dar Es Salaam, Mombasa, and Nouadhibou all stand out as ports where berth delays are now material enough to affect schedule reliability and inland planning.
Europe is not in crisis mode, but execution is getting tighter. Antwerp is still absorbing strike-related fallout, Rotterdam remains exposed to weather-related disruption and elevated yard levels, and landside bottlenecks in Spain are adding more friction to cargo flows tied to Barcelona and Tarragona.

Risk tiers definition

Critical: Severe queue pressure, access disruption, or operational instability is already threatening schedule integrity and customer commitments.
High: The port remains operational, but wait times, yard pressure, weather, labour action, or equipment constraints are creating meaningful delay risk.
Stable: Conditions are manageable for now, though local disruption or bunching could still affect specific shipments.

Global risk board

Method note: Average wait times refer to 7-day average vessel waiting time. Percentile figures use median congestion readings (P50). Long-tail risk indicates that a smaller set of shipments may face materially worse delays than the median port picture suggests.

Location	Key signals	Tier	Likely impact	What LSPs should do now
Persian Gulf / wider Middle East corridor	Delays and disruptions remain highly likely; inland transport demand is rising; rerouting continues to strain regional flows	Critical	ETA instability, rerouting, and weaker schedule confidence across Gulf-linked cargo	Revalidate routings shipment by shipment and avoid treating published schedules as fixed
Conakry	15-day average wait; P50 10.23 days; 6 vessels waiting	Critical	Severe berth delay risk and poor reliability for import and export cargo	Escalate customer-facing updates and build wider delivery windows immediately
Beira	P50 12.82 days; 8 vessels waiting; weekly congestion sharply higher	Critical	Sustained berth queue pressure and likely downstream inland slippage	Keep Beira cargo on active watch and verify each vessel’s latest arrival outlook
Dar Es Salaam	7.4-day average wait; terminal delays of up to 8 days linked to berth sequence, gate, and road congestion; P50 5.66 days; 9 vessels waiting	Critical	High risk of berth delay, landside congestion, and unstable handoff timing	Add buffer to every milestone and tighten communication on delivery confidence
Jebel Ali	4.25-day average wait; productivity affected by crane malfunctions; P50 5.74 days; 20 vessels waiting	High	Reduced schedule reliability and transshipment slippage	Reconfirm downstream connections and watch for rolling cargo
Mombasa	5.19-day average wait; prolonged congestion, equipment shortages, and vessel bunching; P50 5.31 days; 11 vessels waiting	High	Delays on berth access and uneven terminal productivity	Flag time-sensitive East Africa cargo early and protect inland plans with extra slack
Nouadhibou	8.25-day average wait	High	Material queue pressure and weaker berth predictability	Treat as an escalation port and review alternate timing assumptions
Bejaia	6-day average wait; severe weather improved but backlog persists	High	Residual backlog may continue to delay vessel flow	Expect uneven recovery rather than a clean return to normal
Antwerp	2.41-day average wait; strike-related increase from last week; yards still relatively full	High	Vessel backlog, terminal friction, and uneven recovery after disruption	Monitor terminal-specific recovery and keep trucking and feeder plans flexible
Rotterdam	1.8-day average wait; dense fog disrupted operations; yard utilization remains elevated at 75% to 95%	High	Inland and feeder execution risk despite moderate headline waits	Build flexibility into intermodal and short-sea planning
Casablanca	3.60-day average wait; P50 4.31 days; 11 vessels waiting	High	Elevated delay risk on North West Africa cargo	Watch berth timing closely and avoid overpromising on short transit buffers
Pointe Noire	3.27-day average wait; weather and rain slowing operations; feeder delays of 3 to 4 days; P50 3.33 days; 7 vessels waiting	High	Mainliner dependency can push feeder timing off plan	Keep connection-sensitive shipments under active review
Algiers	4.25-day average wait; P50 3.67 days; 5 vessels waiting	High	Continuing berth pressure and softer schedule reliability	Add planning buffer and watch for further queue growth
Mundra	3.75-day average wait; long-tail congestion signal; 19 vessels waiting	Stable	Typical flows may move, but outlier delays can still hit exposed shipments	Treat as a monitor port with extra care on urgent cargo
Southampton	1.13-day average wait; busy vessel line-up but no adverse impact; labour capped at around 10 gangs	Stable	Operations remain steady, though capacity is not especially loose	Monitor only and verify labour-sensitive moves
Busan	1.2-day average wait; yard density around 86%	Stable	Busy but still manageable for most shipments	Keep on the watch list rather than escalate
Le Havre	2.13-day average wait; yard utilization stable at 55% to 60%	Stable	Moderate wait with relatively controlled terminal conditions	No broad contingency action needed at this stage
Savannah	P50 1.02 days; 8 vessels waiting	Stable	Manageable congestion with some visible queueing	Keep milestone tracking tight, but no need for major rerouting

Critical tier deep dives

1) Persian Gulf / wider Middle East corridor

What’s happening
The region remains the most consequential network risk in this week’s briefing. Delays and disruptions are still highly likely at ports in the Persian Gulf, and inland transport demand is rising as cargo is rerouted to keep trade moving. Bahrain has resumed operations, but broader operating conditions across the corridor remain fragile.

What this means
This is not just a wait-time story. The bigger issue is reliability: service plans can remain fluid, inland capacity is under pressure, and even cargo that is technically moving may not move on the timing originally expected.

What to tell customers
Keep lead-time language cautious for Gulf-linked shipments. Customers should expect updates to focus on route viability and milestone confidence rather than one fixed ETA.

Action checklist

Reconfirm routing assumptions before promising delivery dates.
Separate cargo already on water from cargo not yet gated in.
Review transshipment exposure, especially through UAE-linked flows.
Use ETA ranges rather than single-date commitments.

2) Conakry

What’s happening
Conakry remains one of the clearest hard-congestion cases in the current source set. The average wait is around 15 days, and some carrier-reported waits are even longer. The median congestion reading is also firmly in the high band.

What this means
This is severe queue pressure, not ordinary schedule drag. Import and export cargo through Conakry should be treated as high-risk for milestone slippage.

What to tell customers
Set expectations early that timing will likely remain volatile. It is better to widen delivery windows now than revise them repeatedly later.

Action checklist

Escalate all Conakry-linked shipments to active watch status.
Check whether commercial alternatives exist before cargo is locked into plan.
Build berth and inland buffer into customer promises.
Review detention and demurrage exposure where relevant.

3) Dar Es Salaam

What’s happening
Dar Es Salaam has moved firmly into the critical group this week. The average wait is around 7.4 days, while terminal delays of up to 8 days are being driven by berth sequencing, gate congestion, and road congestion. The median congestion picture also remains high.

What this means
This is both a marine-side and landside problem. Even where vessel schedules can be updated, inland timing may still stay unstable because congestion is not limited to anchorage.

What to tell customers
Cargo moving through Dar Es Salaam needs wider timing assumptions across the full journey, not just at berth. Last-mile and inland handoff expectations should be adjusted now.

Action checklist

Add extra slack to all destination-facing milestones.
Align trucking and terminal planning more tightly than usual.
Review handoff risk for time-sensitive cargo.
Avoid treating a berth slot as proof of smooth landside execution.

4) Beira

What’s happening
Beira is still one of the most delayed ports in this week’s congestion snapshot. The median wait sits at 12.82 days with 8 vessels waiting, and the weekly increase shows that the pressure has intensified rather than eased.

What this means
Even without a fuller operational note this week, the congestion data alone is enough to justify escalation. This is a port where schedule confidence should remain low until the queue visibly improves.

What to tell customers
Delivery timing for Beira-linked shipments should be framed as conditional, not fixed. Fast updates matter more than false precision.

Action checklist

Keep all Beira cargo on exception watch.
Recheck inland dependencies tied to discharge timing.
Watch weekly trend direction before relaxing buffers.
Prioritize proactive customer communication over reactive apology updates.

High tier snapshots

Jebel Ali: The combination of a higher average wait, a high median reading, and 20 vessels waiting makes this one of the clearest operational watchpoints in the Gulf-linked network.
Mombasa: Equipment shortages and vessel bunching matter as much as the raw delay number. This remains a planning-discipline port for East Africa cargo.
Nouadhibou: An 8.25-day average wait is enough to keep this firmly in the higher-risk bucket even without more detailed operating commentary.
Antwerp: Strike-related disruption may be past its peak, but backlog-clearing can still create uneven execution.
Rotterdam: Moderate vessel waits can understate the real friction when fog and elevated yard levels are affecting onward moves.
Pointe Noire: Weather and mainliner dependency are creating feeder timing risk that can spill into customer milestones.
Casablanca and Algiers: North Africa remains active in this week’s data, with both ports showing enough wait-time pressure to justify closer watch.

Stable tier (monitor)

Mundra, Southampton, Busan, Le Havre, and Savannah sit in the monitor group this week. None of them currently justify broad contingency action, but each has a reason to stay visible in the planning cycle, whether because of long-tail risk, busy line-ups, or moderate queueing.

For LSP teams, this is the zone where tighter milestone management beats dramatic rerouting. The right response is discipline, not panic.

Disruption bulletin

Bahrain has resumed operations.
Al-Fujairah saw a brief interruption after a drone interception over the weekend.
Dense fog affected Rotterdam last week.
The strike drove higher waiting times in Antwerp.
A seven-week closure of the Rubí tunnel has halted rail freight movements between Barcelona and France, affecting connections to Barcelona and Tarragona and forcing diversions via Zaragoza.
A railway blockade in Pará State disrupted some freight services and passenger train operations in Brazil.
Traffic restrictions tied to the Vincent Thomas Bridge project are set to affect access to Los Angeles and Long Beach from 23 March onward.

Forward lookout

Over the next 7–14 days, the biggest watchpoint is whether Middle East disruption continues to translate into harder operational delays at Gulf-linked hubs rather than only broader routing instability. Jebel Ali is the clearest port to watch for that shift.

In Africa, the key question is whether Beira and Conakry stay pinned at very high congestion levels while Dar Es Salaam and Mombasa continue to absorb pressure. In Europe, keep an eye on Antwerp’s backlog recovery and whether Rotterdam’s elevated yard levels create more spillover into feeder and inland moves. Spain’s rail disruption also deserves monitoring because the landside impact may outlast the initial headline.

Visibility note

Weekly congestion updates are useful on their own, but the real operational challenge is connecting those signals to live shipments, customer promises, and exception handling. For logistics teams, the value comes from turning port-level risk into earlier, clearer action.