Andre Klynsmith

Shipping and Logistics

1.85 Million TEU Is Parked at Anchor: Congestion Has Become a Capacity Problem

Roughly 1.85 million TEU of container ship capacity was sitting at anchor rather than sailing in late August 2026, according to a Kuehne+Nagel market update published on 21 August. The freight forwarder puts 4.55% of the world's container vessel capacity in queues outside the 45 ports it monitors through its seaexplorer Anchorage Congestion Indicator.

Shipping and Logistics

25 August 2026 • 5 min read

A ship waiting at anchor is not late in the way a truck is late. It is capacity that has been removed from the trade entirely for the duration of the wait. When that happens at scale, the effect reaches SADC importers as blank sailings, rolled bookings and schedules that stop matching the rate sheet -- long before it shows up as a headline about congestion.

Queues are not delays -- they are withdrawn capacity

The distinction matters commercially. A vessel that waits four days outside a European or Asian gateway does not simply arrive four days late at its next port. It falls out of its rotation, and the operator has to decide whether to skip a call, cut a port, or run the loop short. Each of those decisions removes sailings from the schedule that a SADC importer has already booked against.

Congestion in late August was reported across Northern Europe, China, Brazil, West Africa and India -- a spread wide enough that a shipper cannot route around it by changing origin. Red Sea diversions continue to absorb capacity on top of that, with many services still running via the Cape of Good Hope and adding sea days to voyages that were priced on a shorter routing.

What the African port picture looks like underneath it

Kuehne+Nagel's weekly African port readings give the regional detail. Durban's seven-day average vessel waiting time sat at around 3.25 days in early August, with terminal-level delays of three to four days at Pier 1 and five to nine days at Pier 2, attributed to equipment shortages and productivity constraints. Vessel schedules were reported as affected, with possible rerouting and port omissions.

Beira, the natural alternative for Zimbabwean, Zambian and Malawian cargo, was worse: a seven-day average waiting time of roughly 15.3 days, with delays reported of up to 30 days and terminal recovery not expected before weeks 40 to 43 of the year. Dar es Salaam sat at about 1.33 days, with inland evacuation pressure. The relief valve, in other words, is not currently a relief valve.

The planning consequence for the fourth quarter

Withdrawn capacity tightens space before it moves price. For SADC importers building fourth-quarter and festive-season stock, the practical risk is not the freight rate on the quotation -- it is whether the booking actually sails on the week it was accepted for. Rolled containers do not appear on a rate sheet, but they consume the same buffer that a late vessel does.

For road hauliers contracted to evacuate that cargo inland, the exposure is the mirror image: trucks positioned for an arrival window that moves, then a bunched arrival when three delayed vessels discharge in the same week. Neither the standing time nor the peak-week surge is usually priced into an annual rate agreement.

About the Author
	Andre Klynsmith Entrepreneur & Technology Enthusiast Andre's expertise spans technology, blockchain, transport, and logistics -- with a passion for innovation and driving positive change across industries. info@laaimylorrie.com | laaimylorrie.com