Danish carrier Unifeeder has complained of "serious operational problems" and delays at terminals in Rotterdam following a surge in container imports from China, and has threatened to impose a congestion surcharge.
These delays at the the Euromax, ECT Home and ECT Delta terminals have caused both delays and short-shipments of cargo to and from Baltic and Scandinavian countries.
The situation, which is caused by a lack of manpower and increased volumes, combined with delayed ocean liners, is causing peaks at terminals exceeding their capacity.
"We are experiencing delays beyond 36 hours as well as short-shipments on our Scandinavian and Baltic services, and the performance of the terminals has prevented us from maintaining our planned schedule," said the company in a statement on July 16.
"We have experienced a loss of revenue and we have been facing additional operational costs as a result of our vessels laying idle in Rotterdam for a longer period of time, extra fuel consumption and overtime costs in the wayports.
"Consequently, if this situation continues during the next weeks we will implement a congestion surcharge as from 1 August."
