Container ships arriving at Myanmar’s Port of Yangon in May were forced to wait in port up to three times longer than normal due to high levels of congestion, according to a report by JOC.com on June 2.
Ship call data seen by JOC.com for Myanmar Industrial Port show the vast majority of ships needed to stay in port for a minimum of 11 days, compared with three days to five days during normal periods, the report says.
As an example, MOL’s Mathu Bhum, which arrived at the port on April 30, was unable to depart until May 16, and three other ships operated by Continental, MCC and RCL were also forced to spend a total of 16 days at the port during the first two weeks of May.
Data for arrivals and departures indicates serious delays.
The Myanmar authorities have set up a committee to look into solutions, including a possible round-the-clock loading and unloading operation.
According to the report, the congestion is due to a combination of ongoing growth in trade volumes, poor port infrastructure and equipment, inefficient cargo handling processes and the limited draft of the port, which means larger vessels cannot call there.