Limited notice of schedule changes, port adjustments, and waits as long as 96 hours have added to the pressure on Houstons container terminals. Heavy fog disrupts shipping, forcing carriers to re-arrange their port calls along the US Gulf Coast.

The seasonal heavy fog along the Gulf Coast has disrupted container vessel operations, slowed vessel arrivals at the Port of Houston, and prompted several carriers to divert vessels to the Port of Mobile, according to a report by US industry media JOC.

Shippers using Mobile said that many of the notices for schedule changes were issued with limited time, leaving them with insufficient time to cargo before export cut-off dates, the report said.

The Port of Houston is frequented by a myriad of vessels year-round and is frequently beset heavy fog in winter. While the scale of disruptions this season remains to be confirmed, the weather condition has led to longer times at anchor for container vessels waiting to berth.

Some carriers have changed their routine port rotation along the US Gulf Coast, skipping Houston and heading first to Mobile, instead of maintaining the traditional sequence.

operations at Houston’s terminals have also been affected.

According to the latest release from Hapag-Lloyd, on January 12, both Gem and non-Gemini vessels faced a maximum waiting time of 3 hours at the Barbours Cut terminal. In the meantime, vessels calling at the Bayport container terminal encountered as long as 96 hours.

Hapag-Lloyd further reported that the dwell time for import laden boxes at the Barbours Cut terminal was3.8 days, compared to 3.6 days at the Bayport terminal. Also, a crane was out of service at the Bayport terminal, further exacerbating overall pressure at the terminal.