Mediterranean international shipping ports are operating at close to full capacity

Container ports in the western Mediterranean are operating at near full capacity, according to the Financial Times, which could lead to higher inventory costs and parts shortages for European retailers and manufacturers.

Maersk recently warned customers that yard utilization at the port of Barcelona is increasing as the port handles far higher-than-normal transshipment volumes, and that terminals at the ports of Algeciras and Tangier Mediterranean are also affected.

After the Houthi attacks, most of the large container liners operating on the Asia-Europe route diverted to the Cape of Good Hope. After bypassing South Africa, many ships unloaded at ports such as Algeciras and Tangier Mediterranean on the western side of the Mediterranean Containers are shipped by feeder ships to other terminals in southern Europe.

As key ports struggle to cope with the surge in transshipment volume, Daniel Richards, director of maritime consultancy MSI, said delays at ports could force some companies to build up inventories. The ports of Algeciras and Tangier Mediterranean haven't released shipping statistics for this year, while Barcelona's container throughput rose 17 percent in February from a year earlier.

Many terminal operators expect the problem to persist as long as the route continues to divert. Tangier Alliance, the terminal operator of Tangier Mediterranean Port, said the terminal has been operating at near full capacity this year.

地中海国际海运港口已接近满负荷运转

       据金融时报，地中海西部的集装箱港口已接近满负荷运转，可能导致欧洲零售商和制造商库存成本上升和零部件短缺。

       马士基最近警告客户，巴塞罗那港的堆场使用率正在升高，原因是该港处理的转运量远高于正常水平，此外，阿尔赫西拉斯港和丹吉尔地中海港的码头也受到影响。

       在胡塞武装发动袭击后，大多数在亚欧航线上运营的大型集装箱班轮公司都改道好望角。许多船舶绕过南非后，在地中海西侧的阿尔赫西拉斯和丹吉尔地中海等港口卸下集装箱，由支线船将货物运往南欧的其他码头。

       由于关键港口难以应对转运量激增，海事咨询公司MSI的董事Daniel Richards说，港口的延误可能会迫使一些公司增加库存。阿尔赫西拉斯港和丹吉尔地中海港没有公布今年的运输统计数据，而巴塞罗那港2月份的集装箱吞吐量同比增长了17%。

       许多码头运营商预计，只要航线持续改道，问题就会一直存在。丹吉尔地中海港的码头运营商Tangier Alliance表示，今年以来，该码头一直在堆场几乎满负荷的情况下运营。