market news

Maersk diverts large ships from UK ports amid rising HGV congestion

Date: October 14, 2021 Sunil Jha Sunil Jha
Maersk diverts large ships from UK ports amid rising HGV congestion 
Maersk, the Danish international container shipping firm, has reportedly announced that it has to reroute several ships from the United Kingdom's busiest container port due to congestion caused by the HGV drivers shortage, which is impeding the flow of cargo containers into and out of the nation.



Because of this new detour cargo ships have to take; British supermarkets are looking for alternate means to get food into the country. After Maersk’s announcement, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) stated that additional disruption to supply networks may be unavoidable.



The congestion in question is being caused by the ongoing scarcity of HGV drivers to transport containers unloaded from the ships to make more room at the port.



Sir Keir Starmer, labor leader, during his visit to an HGV training facility near Oldham in Greater Manchester, stated that the shortfall was absolutely foreseeable.



Starmer added that the country understood when it took its leave from the European Union that it would require a plan B for logistics drivers, it knew that there would be an impact because the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, despite all this foresight, the nation has still found itself in the middle of a supply-chain crisis with a prime minister that is missing in action.



At the training facility, Starmer was also seen struggling behind the wheel of an HGV, hitting a barrier when reversing a lorry. The Labor MP was informed he would have been unable to pass his driving test.



Maersk has claimed that it has started rerouting larger ships away from Suffolk's Felixstowe port, which serves as the entry point for 36% of the nation's shipping containers. Instead, commodities bound for the UK are being moved onto smaller ships, increasing the time it takes for items to arrive on land.



Lars Mikael Jensen, the head of global ocean network, Maersk, stated that the firm had to suspend operations on a vessel because there was no place to unload the containers.



The UK port operators' trade association stated that some of the nation’s ports are maintaining storage space with short-term limits.



Source credit: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/ports-congestion-hgv-drivers-maersk-ships-b1936927.html

About the author

View All Posts

Sunil Jha

Sunil Jha has been a part of the content industry for close to two years. Having previously worked as a voice over artist and sportswriter, he now focuses on writing articles for newsorigins.com, across a slew of topics, ranging from technology to trade and finance. With a business-oriented educational background, Sunil brings forth the expertise of deep-dive research and a strategic approach in his write ups.