b'4American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comEuropean ports facing multiple challenges but congestion most immediate oneWith tariff and other issues turning the TEUs on and off like a faucet, Europes ports are facing both the problems of congestion and alternativelyissuesassociatedwithdis-ruption such as blank sailings.By Stuart Todd, AJOTEuropesmajorportsareconditionsatAntwerp,whose facing a number of long-term chal- containerthroughputreached lenges,notablydecarbonization,13.5millionin2024andis withtheelectrificationofcargoEuropes second box port behind handling equipment and vehiclesRotterdam,aspokespersonfor andtheadoptionofrenewabletheBelgianmaritimegateway energysourcestopowertheirtoldAJOT: There is currently facilities more sustainably. no large-scale chaos but there is However, of far more imme- prolonged, increased congestion diate concern to these vital trade(CONGESTIONcontinued hubsistheimpactofapro- on page 12) OOCL Germany docked at Zeebruggelongedperiodofoperational difficultieswhichhasresulted invesselcongestionandthe creationofbottlenecksinthe logisticschain,hamperingthe movementofgoodsallthis as the season of peak demand approaches.F ragmenTeda rrival oFv esselsThedisruptionhasbeen attributedtoaconfluenceof factors,onebeingtheattacks on shipping in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels in Yemen making theSuezCanaltoodangerous forthevastmajorityofocean lines. Consequently, ships have forsometimebeenre-routed around Africa, adding up to two weeks to journey times and there is little prospect of this changing in the foreseeable future.Anotherfactorisuncer-tainty surrounding US tariff pol-icies which has added pressure to global supply chains and put ocean shipping schedules into a state of flux, amid a distinct lack of market visibility.Thereshufflingofglobal shipping alliances is also having adisruptiveeffect.Forexam-ple,thenewly-formedGemini alliancebetweenMaerskand Hapag-Lloydhasintroduceda hub-and-spoke model, reducing direct calls by large vessels and increasingrelianceonsmaller feeder ships.This has led to a more frag-mentedarrivalofvesselsat some European ports. Moreover, the restructuring is being imple-mented in stages, requiring ports to handle both new and existing alliance volumes simultaneously.Another consequence of the alliancereshuffleisthatships may not always arrive on time or at all, with last-minute adjust-ments made to services to avoid theworstofthecongestion, leaving containers on the wharf. Inland transport, be it by road, river or rail, have suffered seri-ous knock-on effects.Lowwaterlevelsonthe Rhine,affectingbarge-borne containertraffic,aswellas strikes and labor shortages, have added to the congestion too.a lmosTP ermanenTs Trainonl ogisTicsc hain Commentingonoperating'