We have 3 vessels due this month with 420 Zontes ZT125 U, U1 & G1 aboard, all of which are allocated to dealers and will help clear back orders.
This morning we have been advised that the first vessel carrying 126 bikes, due to dock over this weekend, has been re-routed due to UK port congestion. The vessel will now dock at Antwerp and Rotterdam before arriving in Felixstowe.
This will undoubtable delay arrival by a minimum of 10 days. Road transport booked for next week will be cancelled and we will have to start the process of booking road haulage, just as soon as we have a confirmed arrival date.
UK port congestion has been exacerbated by the haulage crisis, with transport companies failing to clear port space quickly enough to unload vessels. As a consequence, berths become congested, and vessels cannot dock. As a result, the inbound vessel sails on to mainland Europe and either returns to the UK later or lands UK containers in a European port and we must wait for trans-shipment by feeder vessel to a smaller less congested port.
This can easily add 10-14 days to the shipping process and then of course we are faced with rebooking UK haulage, which is a delight right now.
We are doing everything possible to manage shipping, however with these vessels now holding up to 24,000 x 20’ or 12,000 x 40’ containers, the shipping lines have more to concern themselves with than worrying about us. Changes in schedule, delays and trans-shipments are becoming daily occurrences and notifications are delivered at the 11th hour.
Whilst these delays are inconvenient, they are beyond our control, and we can only apologise and assure you we are processing deliveries to dealers in the shortest time possible.
Zontes UK
