US East Coast ports watch storm for impact on schedules A tropical storm moving up the U.S. East Coast threatens to complicate cargo movement by disrupting vessel schedules at ports already facing a July 4 holiday interruption. How Tropical Storm Arthur will affect vessel schedules is still unclear. Carriers are trying to minimize disruptions to ships dodging the storm, which is expected to reach hurricane force off North Carolina and move north-northeast off the East Coast. The North Carolina State Ports Authority’s Port of Morehead City, which handles breakbulk and bulk cargo, was closed to vessel calls today. The Port of Wilmington remained open, a port authority spokeswoman said. Before the storm materialized, terminals at several East Coast ports had announced extended gate hours around the Independence Day holiday, when terminals will be closed. Charleston is keeping gates open until 8 p.m. through Thursday, July 3. Savannah and Virginia will be open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 5. At New York-New Jersey, Global Terminal has extended gate hours until 5 p.m. for the second consecutive week to deal with heavy volume. Port Newark Container Terminal advised customers that based on carriers’ July vessel schedules, it “expects high volumes and the potential of heavy truck traffic” that could persist off and on during the two weeks beginning July 7. “Vessel schedules are subject to change, which could improve or deteriorate current projections,” the PNCT advisory said. Off-schedule vessel arrivals have been widely cited as a top contributor to congestion and delays at container terminals. When ships arrive late, often must assign additional labor or cranes to work the vessel quickly. This can come at the expense of overall terminal productivity as container yards become congested Congestion slows the movement of imports through the terminal, and disrupts terminals’ schedules for acceptance of export boxes. During the worst of last winter’s severe weather, ships arrived on schedule less than 30 percent of the time at New York-New Jersey and Virginia. Off-schedule arrivals combined with icy conditions, chassis shorages and other problems to create long delays for truckers and cargo interests. SeaIntel Maritime Analysis said container ship lines’ on-time arrivals posted year-over-year declines in each of the first four months of 2014. A separate survey by CargoSmart of major North European ports from April 15 to May 15 showed that 24 percent of ships arrived at least a day late, and 13 percent were more than a day late. Dan Smith, a principal at consulting firm Tioga Group, told last month’s annual conference of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition that carriers’ on-time performance is among the things customers should consider in choosing a terminal. JOC
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 23:16:16 +0000
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