after the earthquake in Turkey in early February, the supply chain was interrupted due to the closure of Iskenderun Port. Many shipping companies including Maersk, COSCO, Dafei, ONE, etc. formulated a series of emergency plans. Although over the past 50 days, the impact of the earthquake in Turkey has continued to exist, and the port of Iskenderun is still out of service. In order to ensure the normal operation of logistics, a large number of goods were transferred to the nearby port of Melshin, and then continued to be transported through inland services. However, this has led to severe congestion in the Port of Melshin, and the terminal is approaching maximum loading and unloading capacity.

In response to this situation, Maersk said in its customer information released on the 31st that the main focus is to minimize cargo delays, but the congestion level at Melshin Port has a chain reaction on terminal operations and ship berthing, leading to further delays.

Therefore, Maersk decided to stop accepting spot bookings to and from Port Melshin until further notice, and is evaluating the diversion plan for Port Izmir. Maersk said that if there is any change to the delivery of the goods, it will communicate the latest details with customers as soon as possible.

Maersk also urged the customer to deliver the goods as soon as possible after unloading. This will help ease delays and maintain the terminal business at an operational level until the congestion situation at Melshin Port is fully resolved.

Dafei Announces Port Congestion Surcharge

Dafei recently issued a notice saying that due to the serious congestion at Melshin Port, ships have encountered serious delays in queuing for berthing and waiting for too long, resulting in increased delivery times for container goods, low efficiency of container loading and return, and increased operating costs. In view of this, Dafei announced the imposition of a Port Congestion Surcharge (PCS) at Melshin Port.

Source: Ningbo Shipping