Since January, Contargo has recorded increasingly long processing times for barges in the seaports of Rotterdam and Antwerp.

At present barges are having to wait 92 hours for processing in Rotterdam, and there are also waiting times of up to 72 hours in Antwerp. Communication about delays is not reliable, making it very difficult to predict how long the vessels will have to remain in port. The situation has been getting more acute ever since the beginning of the year, and considerable costs have already arisen for Contargo. These are due to the fact that charter costs have increased as a result of the longer waits in the seaports: Contargo has to hire additional tonnage to bridge the waiting times of the vessels, and some customers have already switched to other transport modes.

As the growing numbers of containers, and the usual personnel shortages during the summer months, make it unlikely that the situation will improve in the short term, we shall have no option but to introduce a Congestion Surcharge in the near future.