SIMIC

"There is a lot of port congestion in Singapore, which is one of the biggest factors," a freight-forwarder based in Singapore said, adding that vessels calling at the Lion City have not departed on time since September.

According to PSA International, Singapore has been experiencing an increase in activity. "Like many other ports across the world, PSA Singapore has been experiencing a surge in vessel calls and container volumes in recent months," a PSA corporate spokesperson said.

"This exceptional situation is due to a confluence of factors, including an unprecedented and volatile surge in cargo demand, congestion across all nodes in the global supply chain (including depots, warehouses and seaports) due to renewed lockdowns, a lack of usable empty containers while laden ones are held up longer at these nodes, and shipping lines' vessel sailing schedule reliability dropping to 10-year historical lows, causing further delays at almost every seaport worldwide."

PSA Singapore has been ramping up additional capacity and resources "and is working closely with shipping line customers and cargo owners to alleviate the situation."

The number of vessels staying at Singapore port for more than two days in January, averaged 46 per day, about 59 per cent higher than January 2020, according to data from London's S&P Global Platts.

The average number of vessels staying at Singapore port for more than two days each day peaked in November, at 49, compared with 17 in the same month of 2019.

This congestion has had a knock-on effect on spot container freight prices, where exports from Singapore to North America have attracted higher pricing relative to other ports in Southeast Asia.

One source said that ports in the region, including in China and Southeast Asia, are facing congestion issues. Some cargoes from other ports such as Port Kelang and Colombo have also been diverted to Singapore due to logistical issues.