The recently escalated instability in the Red Sea has had a significant impact on the container transport market between Asia and Europe. All major container lines have stopped transiting through the Suez Canal until further notice. However, shipping lines monitor the situation in order to decide when the cargo traffic through the Suez Canal can resume.
According to the latest estimates, rerouting of vessels around the Cape of Good Hope will result in transit times of at least two weeks. Some vessels slow down their sailing speed to save fuel, while others stop to refuel, having to stop along the way.
Large container ports in Europe are still able to handle containers without significant delays, but if the situation continues, congestion in container loading and unloading is likely. This may further slow down transport to Finland.
The Suez Canal situation causes an imbalance in container transport between continents, which is reflected in global maritime transport supply chains, increasing costs. Freight rates can fluctuate at short notice.
We will update possible changes to the estimated arrival times of ocean freight shipments in the MyVarova -portal as we receive information from the shipping lines. Our ocean freight operations team will provide further assistance if needed.