Red Sea crisis creates operational challenges for African ports

Posted on March 8, 2024   |  

African port operations have been significantly affected by shipping disruptions in the Red Sea and Suez Canal.

Ports like the Port of Aden in Yemen and Port Said in Egypt saw reduced vessel calls due to disruptions in commerce during the first quarter of the year.

Despite improved business at African container ports in Q4 2023, many struggled to handle increased vessel calls and container volumes.

This led to longer wait times for ships and decreased productivity at main African ports, with a more than 18% decline in port productivity.

However, some ports like Tanger-Med and Mombasa managed to improve productivity despite increased container capacity.

Yard productivity at key African ports decreased in Q4 2023, with import and export container dwell times rising significantly.