Ocean carrier voyage blankings causing chaos and confusion for shippers

Ocean carriers are ramping-up their vessel blanking programmes from Asia as export demand weakens, but last-minute cancellations are causing chaos in supply chains and confusion within liner offices.

Moreover, shippers are having to navigate their way around ‘officially’ announced blank sailings and voyages pulled just days before arrival in China and held off the loading port, in what carriers term as ‘slidings’.

A UK-based NVOCC told liner sailings from China had become “pot luck” and accused carriers of running “tramp services” instead.

“When we talk to the local offices, they haven’t got a clue as to what loops are still running. That gives us a headache for our export planning, as the so-called ‘alternative services’ offered by the lines may not even call in the UK,” he said.

Furthermore, there is also an impact on the forward berthing programmes of North European container hub ports from the constant network changes, along with disruption to linking feeder and barge relay services.

For example, a Dublin-based contact told that, for one particular shipment recently, its deepsea vessel’s name had been changed no less than four times after the connecting feeder had left Dublin port.