Cargo ships forced to divert from UK ports as lorry driver crisis causes container backlog

12 October 2021, 20:40 | Updated: 13 October 2021, 09:40

Ships are being diverted away from Felixstowe because of a build-up of cargo as a result of the HGV driver shortage which has seen the army step in to drive fuel lorries
Ships are being diverted away from Felixstowe because of a build-up of cargo as a result of the HGV driver shortage which has seen the army step in to drive fuel lorries. Picture: Alamy

By Daisy Stephens

Shipping giant Maersk has said it is diverting vessels away from UK ports because of a build-up of cargo amid the UK's ongoing supply chain crisis.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

It has started rerouting its container ships away from Felixstowe, the UK's largest commercial port, to unload elsewhere in Europe before using smaller vessels to finally get deliveries to the UK, the Financial Times reported.

The congestion is partly the result of the HGV driver shortage slowing down the time it takes for containers to be emptied and picked up.

"We had to stop operations on a ship because there was nowhere to discharge the containers," said Lars Mikael Jensen, head of global ocean network at Maersk.

"Felixstowe is among the top two or three worst-hit terminals.

Read more: 'Why not say sorry?': Minister refuses to apologise for Covid failures eight times

Read more: Lord Frost accuses EU of 'using' NI to 'reverse' Brexit in bitter attack

"We are having to deviate some of the bigger ships away from Felixstowe and relay some of the smaller ships for the cargo.

"We did it for a little while over the summer and now we're starting to do it again."

The UK's port industry has also warned that some ports are managing access to storage space with "short-term restrictions" in a bid to ease congestion issues.

Caller wants loans for HGV driver courses

Felixstowe deals with 36 per cent of the UK's freight imports.

As a result the backlog there will add to concerns over how UK industry will cope with the key Christmas period.

Mr Jensen also warned that this may mean retailers are forced to prioritise what they ship to deal with the congestion.

Read more: Matt Hancock given UN role less than four months after Covid breach scandal

Read more: Gas price crisis: PM 'to spend hundreds of millions saving thousands of jobs' in bailout

A spokesman for the port said: "In common with other major ports in the UK and beyond, the Port of Felixstowe is experiencing impacts of the global supply chain crisis.

"The vast majority of import containers are cleared for collection within minutes of arriving and there are over 1,000 unused haulier bookings most days.

"The situation is improving and there is more spare space for import containers this week than at any time since the beginning of July when supply chain impacts first started to bite.

"Empty container levels remain high as import containers are returned and we are asking shipping lines to remove them as quickly as possible."

The Industry needs to improve HGV working conditions

The lorry driver shortage has contributed to disruption at UK ports.

Tim Morris, chief executive officer of the UK Major Ports Group, said that trade ports had become "the jam in the sandwich between surging, volatile shipping and UK supply chains badly impacted by factors such as HGV driver shortages".

"Ports have taken significant action to respond to the challenges and build resilience," said Mr Morris.

"They have extended gate opening to 24/7, increased capacity for trucks at peak hours, sought to maximise rail freight usage within the significant constraints of the network, created additional storage space and recruited more people.

Read more: Govt's 'catastrophic' Covid response biggest public health failure in history - report

Read more: Petrol crisis: Situation still 'serious' in London as uncertainty over deliveries continue

"But the pressures are being exacerbated by well-publicised issues impacting all UK supply chains, notably shortages of HGV drivers.

"Ports therefore have to manage access to storage space very dynamically in extreme situations. This can mean some very limited short-term restrictions.

He added that ports were "committed" to keeping goods moving through the supply chain.

Government need to do more to reassure public amid HGV driver shortage

On a visit to an HGV training centre near Oldham in Greater Manchester, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the shortage of drivers was "absolutely foreseeable".

"We need to get drivers back on the road just as quickly as possible because we've seen already the impact on fuel in recent weeks," he told broadcasters.

"Now we're seeing the impact in deliveries and this is going to go on for weeks and months into Christmas.

"And I think everybody will be saying we need to do something about it, we need to get that training in place.

"But for heaven's sake, this was predicted, it was absolutely foreseeable, and the Government hasn't responded.

"We knew when we left the EU that we would need to have a plan B in relation to drivers, we knew because of the pandemic there would be an impact, and here we are in the middle of a crisis and we've got, what? A Prime Minister who's missing in action."

Watch: The moving James O'Brien call listeners said brought tears to their eyes

Sites elsewhere across the world have also suffered significant delays.

Retailers have highlighted particular issues in China and east Asia, where pandemic restrictions and poor weather conditions have affected shipping.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Lydia Mugambe

United Nations judge forced woman to work as slave after tricking her to come to UK, court hears

Craig and Lindsay Foreman

Did motorbike couple's 'happiness' survey prompt arrest on spying charges in Iran?

Abdirahman Ibrahim has been convicted of murder after driving into the back of Liam Jones

Killer driver mows down e-bike rider to 'teach him lesson' for doing wheelies

The Vatican says Pope Francis is being treated for 'bilateral pneumonia'

New scans show Pope Francis has pneumonia in both lungs but Vatican says he remains ‘in good spirits’

Meghan

Meghan Markle could face 'legal action' from Spanish town as her new luxury brand logo faces resemblance to coat of arms

The father of murdered schoolgirl Sara Sharif is reportedly being protected by a 'Muslim gang'

Sara Sharif's father protected by 'Muslim gang' in jail after being attacked with jagged tuna lid

Zhenhao Zou is accused of raping three women in London and 7 in China, whilst they were unconscious

PhD student 'discussed rape role-play' with alleged victim, trial hears

Exclusive
Senior Tories including Suella Braverman and Michael Gove have criticised the judge's comments

Senior Tories blast 'out of touch' judge for 'ludicrous attack' on Starmer’s migrant remarks

Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, died in an airstrike, Hamas said

Bodies of youngest Israeli hostage Kfir Bibas and his brother and mother to be handed over as family ‘in turmoil’

Lisa Smith, 43, was with a female friend when she was killed outside the Three Horseshoes pub in Knockholt, Kent

Man suspected of fatally shooting wife outside pub on Valentine's Day rang friend and said 'she's dead'

Carry On legend Julian Holloway dies aged 80

Carry On legend Julian Holloway dies aged 80 after 'brief illness' as tributes pour in

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned 'any appearance by armed forces under some other flag' in Ukraine would be 'completely unacceptable', in a dig at a peace plan floated by Keir Starmer.

Keir Starmer’s Ukraine peacekeeping plan ‘completely unacceptable’, Russia tells US in Saudi Arabia talks

Rita Lambourne, 58, was “fatally wounded” at her home in Bayencourt South, Bexhill

Man charged with axe murder of woman in own home

Lydia Mugambe is accused of taking 'advantage of her status'

UN judge ‘trafficked woman to UK to be her slave'

Anonymous posters have appeared in Hampstead Heath, a park in north London, calling for gay men to stop using the park for sex.

'Take back Hampstead Heath', dog walkers urged as posters appear calling for men to stop using park for sex

Gavin Nicholls was tackled to the ground by a plain-clothed officer outside the Co-op in Barnet

Moment serial shoplifter is tackled off e-scooter by police as he flees store in north London