Vessels wait 7–9 days at UAE east-coast ports — Busan BNCT yard at 93%, Ningbo and Shanghai still feel typhoon effects

Global forwarder Kuehne+Nagel published its "Port operational updates from around the world (27 Oct – 3 Nov 2026)" on 3 November. Vessel waiting times at major Asian ports were mostly in the one-to-two-day range, while ports on the UAE east coast stood out as the most congested, with waits of more than a week.

● Fujairah: average containership waiting time of 8.86 days. Arrival and departure delays are significant, and restrictions on foreign cargo, dangerous goods and special equipment remain in place. ● Khor Fakkan: average waiting time of 7.25 days. Over the past 30 days, vessels arrived an average of 7.4 days behind schedule. ● Sharjah: around 3 days of waiting for a berth, with average arrival and departure delays both above four days over the past 30 days. ● Terminal transfers: moving boxes from Khor Fakkan and Fujairah to Jebel Ali, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi takes about 12–15 days, compared with roughly five days before.

In Asia, Busan's average waiting time was about 1.13 days, but yard density at BNCT is around 93%, and planned equipment maintenance is removing about 1,700 TEU of yard capacity for two weeks. In China, typhoon after-effects lingered: Shanghai averaged about 2.12 days and Ningbo about 2.23 days, with one Ningbo terminal near three days and no improvement expected before week 46 (the second week of November).

For UAE-bound cargo, allow extra lead time and confirm the discharge port and onward transfer schedule in advance. For sailings from Busan New Port, keep checking gate-in cut-offs and schedule changes. Kaltstart's operations team (+82-2-2135-3351) can advise on schedules and alternative ports by trade lane.

Source: Kuehne+Nagel, "Port operational updates from around the world (27 Oct – 3 Nov 2026)" (3 Nov 2026) https://mykn.kuehne-nagel.com/news/article/port-operational-updates-from-03-11-2026