Sellexio Maritime Data · Congestion to recovery
Port congestion
Port congestion is the condition where vessels, containers or trucks cannot be handled at their scheduled time because terminal capacity — berths, cranes, yard space, gate slots or chassis — is already saturated. It surfaces first as vessels waiting at anchor, then as longer container dwell in the yard, then as scarce truck appointments at the gate.
The part that costs money is what happens next: congestion consumes contractual free time you were never able to use, and the carrier bills demurrage and detention for it. This page traces that chain with our own measured wait data, then shows the grounds on which those charges are disputed.
Where congestion is being created right now
The ten highest-friction container gateways in the current Port Friction Index. Every figure comes from our own AIS observation log — not carrier advisories, not survey data. Waiting time here becomes demurrage exposure four to ten days later at the box level.
| # | Gateway | Avg wait (h) | P90 wait (h) | Est. daily burn | Friction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loading the current index… | |||||
Dated month-over-month movement: Port Congestion Report — August 2026. Newsrooms and analysts can embed the index with attribution.
How congestion turns into a demurrage invoice
Five stages sit between a vessel waiting at anchor and a per-container, per-day charge on your account. Free time is spent in stages one to three, before you ever get the chance to move the box.
- 01
Arrivals bunch and berths saturate
Vessels wait at anchor. This is the only stage most congestion reporting covers, and it is the earliest measurable signal — we log it hourly from AIS as average and 90th-percentile wait per gateway.
- 02
Yard density rises and dwell lengthens
Once the box is discharged into a saturated yard, restows and re-handles push out the moment it becomes commercially collectable. Discharge date and availability date separate — often by days.
- 03
Gate slots disappear
Appointment systems ration a shrinking number of moves. Your trucker can be ready and still be unable to book. Every refused appointment is a chargeable day under a calendar-day tariff.
- 04
Free time expires against conditions you did not control
Three to seven days of allowance is consumed by stages 01–03. The demurrage clock does not pause for congestion unless your contract says so, and almost none do.
- 05
The invoice lands
Tiered per-container, per-day charges, frequently with the wrong start date, the wrong free-time allowance or a missing tier breakdown. This is the point where the charge becomes recoverable.
Put numbers on your own box with the demurrage calculator and per-port free-time rules, or check the difference between the two charge types in demurrage vs detention.
Dispute the charges
Congestion is not a defence on its own — the evidence that collection was impossible is. These are the grounds carrier billing desks actually action.
The container was not commercially available
The clock must start at availability, not vessel discharge. Availability notices with timestamps routinely knock days off the billed period.
Collection was impossible
Documented appointment refusals, gate closures, terminal outages and labour stoppages defeat the incentive rationale the charge relies on.
Wrong free time or wrong tier
Free time is filed per carrier, per port of discharge and per equipment type, and your service contract overrides the published tariff. Reefer and special equipment allowances are frequently misapplied.
Carrier-side or customs holds
Dwell caused by a hold the merchant could not clear is not chargeable to the merchant in most filed tariffs.
US imports: FMC invoice defects
Rule 46 CFR 541 requires 13 elements on a demurrage or detention invoice. A missing element eliminates the obligation to pay the charge.
Carrier-specific filing routes are on the dispute demurrage pages. Upload the invoice in the Invoice Room and the audit runs on the spot — no call, no sign-in.
Port congestion questions, answered
What is port congestion?
Port congestion is the condition where vessels, containers or trucks cannot be handled at their scheduled time because terminal capacity — berths, cranes, yard space, gate slots or chassis — is already saturated. It shows up first as vessels waiting at anchor, then as longer container dwell inside the yard, then as trucker appointment scarcity at the gate.
What causes port congestion?
Common causes are demand spikes and blank sailings that bunch arrivals, labour actions and equipment shortages, yard density above roughly 80 percent utilisation, inland rail or chassis dislocation that stops boxes leaving, weather and channel restrictions, and customs or inspection backlogs.
Is a port congestion fee the same as demurrage?
No. A port congestion surcharge is a carrier tariff line added to freight when a gateway is disrupted. Demurrage is a per-container, per-day charge for dwelling inside the terminal past free time. You can be billed both on the same shipment, and both are disputable when the delay was carrier or terminal side.
How does port congestion trigger demurrage?
Free time is a fixed contractual allowance, but congestion lengthens the time between discharge and actual collectability — availability notices, appointment scarcity, gate closures and rail dwell. When the clock runs on calendar days while collection is physically impossible, the free-time allowance is consumed by terminal conditions and demurrage begins.
Can I dispute demurrage caused by port congestion?
Yes. Under the US Ocean Shipping Reform Act and FMC rule 46 CFR 541, a demurrage or detention invoice must show 13 specific elements and the charge must serve its incentive purpose — if the container could not be collected, the incentive does not apply. Elsewhere, the strongest grounds are the same: proof the container was not commercially available, appointment or gate evidence, and the tariff free time actually filed for that carrier and port.
What evidence do I need to dispute congestion-driven demurrage?
The availability or release notification with timestamps, terminal appointment attempts and refusals, gate-in and gate-out records, the filed tariff or service-contract free time, any customs or carrier hold record, and the invoice itself so the applied tier and day count can be recalculated.