We have received further information from a range of suppliers with regard to the current congestion being experienced throughout Australian Ports.
National Industrial Action
Finally, some good news! We have received advise that after a day and a half of talks, the Maritime Union of Australia announced that industrial action would end with immediate effect at Patrick Terminals in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane & Fremantle. It was also announced that DP World would provide some temporary relief by postponed industrial relations to be resumed on 26th October 2020.
The somewhat temporary end to the current industrial action will mean that we will see the terminals return to work at full capacity and endeavor to clear up the congestion that is being experienced across the country.
Sydney Port Congestion
At present, Sydney is still experiencing serious congestion causing some vessels to omit Port Botany. Per our previous update, some carriers have introduced “Port Congestion Surcharge”, with other carriers following suit. You can view a listing of the surcharges applied by each carrier by following the link below.
The temporary end to industrial action is a substantial step toward clearing the congestion at empty parks. Patrick's Terminals have also vowed to employee 50 more staff in an effort to speed up the process of clearing up containers and improve productivity.
Melbourne & Brisbane Port Congestion
In addition to the Sydney Port Congestion Surcharge, MSC have also announced that they will apply a Port Congestion Surcharge to Melbourne & Brisbane, also listed in the link below. This will apply to shipments booked from Europe (including Turkey & Israel) booking from ETD 15/10/20.
At present, no other carriers have announced a Port Congestion Surcharge into Melbourne & Brisbane however we will keep a close eye out for any further announcements.
The team at KTL Australia will continue to monitor all of the above situations and continue to provide updates accordingly.
