Port congestion isn’t a headline anymore – it’s a daily operational challenge that keeps ship managers up at night. Already the industry is investing in voyage management teams but in 2025 we have already seen the challenge escalating. It’s disrupting global trade and costing the shipping industry real money.
Data reported in 2025 shows ports across all global trade routes reporting vessel wait times of up to 300 per cent over historical averages. And Freightos, a leading digital freight platform, says that a single day of port delay for a large vessel can cost upwards of $50,000 in cumulative demurrage, labour, and scheduling penalties.
WHAT’S DRIVING DELAYS?
So it’s no surprise that Mario Cordero, CEO of the Port of Long Beach, told the Wall Street Journal that he’s seeing another Covid-19 scenario. He says: “It could be a Covid-19 moment all over again for cargo movement if these trade deals don’t come through.”
We asked Theodore Makrinos, a senior executive in a US based ship management company, whether he felt we were in a Covid-19 moment. He was clear that the drivers of congestion were much more nuanced. He says: “You have a huge number of geopolitical impacts, fluctuations in commodity prices, increased frequency of labor disruptions and frankly weather patterns which all impact on port congestion. Recently there was a longshoreman strike in Canadian ports that had a much bigger impact on vessel waiting times than trade negotiations at a macro level.”
IS AI THE SOLUTION?
So what is the solution, and where should the smart money be spent? Unsurprisingly, although the shipping industry has historically been a fairly traditional industry technology is now definitely driving change. Makrinos told us that some Far East ports are now run entirely by AI and we have seen the ever increasing adoption of robots over most global trade routes.
Makrinos says: “It’s a fact that more ports are definitely going to be using technology to minimise congestion. In a perfect world a port’s AI would talk to a vessel’s AI mid-voyage and optimise it’s arrival in real time. We are not yet there but it is definitely coming.”
That might sound futuristic but the building blocks are already in use. And not just in terminals. The smart vendors who handle ship supply are already using quote and inventory data to forecast customer need, and pre-stock critical items so that they can bring prices down.
SO HOW CAN VENDORS HELP?
Vagie Iliakis, CEO of World Chandlering, says: “The smart money isn’t coming from investors. It’s being spent wisely with the right vendors.” She is clear that what she calls “the right vendor” is defined by their ability to understand the data generated by customers, and, sit down with them and help them buy smarter. “it’s not about chasing the cheapest price. It’s about having the right technology and systems so you can mine the data and get the best price available on the market for your customer, instantly.” She adds: “We’ve seen so many unnecessary delays just because a vessel didn’t have a safety net, or it’s magnetron stopped working. That’s because most ship chandlers don’t run the sort of processes we do. When an urgent request comes in, it hits a bottleneck.”
Iliakis trains every member of her team personally, and that investment has paid off. During a recent ISO audit, World Chandlering’s quality team was able to produce documentation in seconds – a first for the inspector.
BRIDGING TECH AND TEAM
So yes – port congestion is here to stay, and the next few years might be rough. We’re still some way from vessels and chandlers syncing AI in real time — but the shift toward predictive, data-driven logistics is clearly underway. For the shipping industry, that means partnerships will matter more than ever. So where’s the smart money going? Into your supply chain. As Makrinos put it, a vessel sitting in port is essentially a dead asset. That’s why it’s critical to work with a vendor who can bridge tech and team — because without the right people behind the tools, your supply chain isn’t smart, it’s just digital.
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