African ports struggle with cargo influx as companies reroute around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Red Sea.

The Red Sea crisis has created a ripple effect, causing a surge in vessel calls and congestion at African ports in the last quarter of 2023.

As a response to the heightened number of attacks by Yemen’s Houthis in the Red Sea, numerous shipping companies are rerouting their ships to the Cape of Good Hope on Africa’s southern tip.

The trip adds around 3,000 nautical miles and days (if not, weeks) to the sailing times of vessels together with higher fuel expenses and maintenance requirements.

At the same time, the demand surge at African ports has pointed to the widening efficiency gap between African ports and other global regions.

“The Red Sea crisis is highlighting the wide gap in efficiency between ports in Africa and other world regions, despite heavy investment in port infrastructure on the continent over the past decades, particularly under China’s Belt and Road program,” Turloch Mooney, Global Head of Port Intelligence & Analytics at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said.

Despite this growth, several terminals in Africa found themselves grappling with the escalating demands, leading to extended ship waiting times and a decline in ocean and yard productivity across many key ports.

Based on a report from S&P Global Market Intelligence, in the fourth quarter of 2023, business at the main African container ports witnessed a year-over-year improvement, marked by substantial growth in vessel calls and container movements. While this surge reflected a positive trend for the region, it concurrently posed challenges to terminal and port infrastructure.

Overall, the port productivity in Africa experienced a significant setback, plunging by more than 18%, primarily attributed to a pronounced deterioration in vessel waiting times. Noteworthy exceptions to this trend were observed at the ports of Tanger-Med and Mombasa, which not only defied the prevailing challenges but managed to enhance productivity despite a notable increase in container volumes.

However, the general yard productivity at the main African ports witnessed a decline during Q4 2023. Import container dwell times increased by almost 10%, reaching 5.4 days, while export container dwell times surged by nearly 90%, exceeding 8.5 days, the report said.

The consequences of these inefficiencies were reflected in the World Bank–S&P Global Market Intelligence Container Port Performance Index, where almost one-third of the bottom 50 ports were situated in Sub-Saharan Africa, underscoring the persistent challenges impeding the region’s trade sector development and hindering aspirations for more significant involvement in international supply chains.

Source: World Cargo website – 7 March 2024