TEN-DAY berthing delays in Oakland have prompted Israeli flag carrier Zim to have its premium China service abandon the congested northern California port for Los Angeles, reports IHS Media.
Zim's weekly Central China E-Commerce Xpress loop, guaranteeing vessel space in Asia and expedited handling, cannot maintain service with 10-12-day delays in Oakland.
The service will now call inbound from China directly in Los Angeles, where the vessels will be unloaded and reloaded completely before returning to Ningbo.
Los Angeles and Long Beach have also been experiencing vessel delays, but the average vessel delay in Los Angeles this week is down to five days, according to the Signal, the platform that is published daily by the Port of Los Angeles.
Earlier this year, Zim and CMA CGM initiated first-call inbound services from Asia to Oakland to relieve some of the congestion that has generated vessel bunching, equipment shortages and congested terminals in Los Angeles-Long Beach during 10 months of record import volumes from Asia.
But Oakland has 20 or more vessels each day at anchor awaiting berthing. Imports from Asia through Oakland increased 31.6 per cent year on year in the first four months of 2021, according to PIERS data.
On-time vessel performance from Asia to the US west coast was at 22.2 per cent in April, according to Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis.
In addition, Oakland International Container Terminal, which handles about 75 per cent of the port's total box volume, had one of its four berths out of service since January while installing and testing three new superpostpanamax cranes. OICT last week completed the certification process and has been working vessels at the fourth berth since May 27.
SeaNews Turkey
Zim's weekly Central China E-Commerce Xpress loop, guaranteeing vessel space in Asia and expedited handling, cannot maintain service with 10-12-day delays in Oakland.
The service will now call inbound from China directly in Los Angeles, where the vessels will be unloaded and reloaded completely before returning to Ningbo.
Los Angeles and Long Beach have also been experiencing vessel delays, but the average vessel delay in Los Angeles this week is down to five days, according to the Signal, the platform that is published daily by the Port of Los Angeles.
Earlier this year, Zim and CMA CGM initiated first-call inbound services from Asia to Oakland to relieve some of the congestion that has generated vessel bunching, equipment shortages and congested terminals in Los Angeles-Long Beach during 10 months of record import volumes from Asia.
But Oakland has 20 or more vessels each day at anchor awaiting berthing. Imports from Asia through Oakland increased 31.6 per cent year on year in the first four months of 2021, according to PIERS data.
On-time vessel performance from Asia to the US west coast was at 22.2 per cent in April, according to Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis.
In addition, Oakland International Container Terminal, which handles about 75 per cent of the port's total box volume, had one of its four berths out of service since January while installing and testing three new superpostpanamax cranes. OICT last week completed the certification process and has been working vessels at the fourth berth since May 27.
SeaNews Turkey