Singapore reopens disused container terminals to ease port congestion

Closed container terminals in Singapore's city center have been temporarily reopened to ease the backlog of ships loading and unloading cargo at the world's second-largest port.

PSA Singapore Port

PSA Singapore Port (Source: GlobalPSA)

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said on May 30 that operations at closed container terminals in the city center have been temporarily reopened to ease the backlog of vessels loading and unloading goods at the world's second largest port.

MPA said, “We’ve seen large increases in container volumes and the ‘bunching’ of container vessel arrivals over the previous months due to supply chain disruptions in upstream locations.”

Singapore handled 13.36 million TEUs from January to April, up nearly 9% year-on-year.

More unscheduled container ship arrivals and increased container throughput have resulted in longer waiting times for container ships. While most container ships berth on arrival, port operator PSA has worked with shipping lines to adjust arrival schedules where feasible, and where this is not feasible, MPA said that the average waiting times for container ships is about two to three days. However, other industry estimates suggest that ships must wait up to five days to berth.

The increased demand for container handling in Singapore is a result of some container shipping lines unloading more containers in Singapore. The number of containers handled per ship has also increased.

MPA continued, “Added to these demands, container lines are also leveraging PSA’s cargo handling capabilities to help manage their containers stowage onboard vessels to facilitate expeditious discharge of cargo for their subsequent port calls. This is a sign of the confidence that container liners have in our port.”

Since late 2023, when the Red Sea crisis forced ships to reroute through the Cape of Good Hope, MPA and the Ministry of Transport (MOT) have been working with PSA to prepare for more ships to arrive.

Thanks to the reopening of the previously idled Keppel Terminal, PSA was able to increase the number of containers handled weekly from 770,000 TEUs to the current total of 820,000 TEUs.

In addition to the eight existing berths at Tuas Port, three new berths will begin operations later this year. This will increase the port's overall handling capacity.

PSA plans to accelerate the commissioning of these new terminals to help increase overall container handling capacity in the near future. MPA and PSA are working closely with long-haul operators and regional feeder operators to update them on berth availability and advise them on arrival times to minimize delays in berthing.

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