Maersk warns of major congestion at Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Hamburg ports

Maersk has issued an operational warning regarding growing congestion across three critical North European container ports: Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, and Hamburg. This alert signals potential capacity constraints and extended vessel waiting times at facilities that collectively handle a substantial portion of intra-European and transatlantic container traffic. The warning comes at a time when European ports are managing elevated cargo volumes, suggesting that demand has outpaced terminal processing capacity or that operational disruptions (labor actions, equipment failures, or scheduling conflicts) are creating bottlenecks.

For supply chain professionals, this congestion alert directly impacts transit time reliability and transportation costs on key European import/export corridors. Shippers routing cargo through these hubs should anticipate longer port dwell times, potential demurrage charges, and reduced vessel berthing windows. The affected ports collectively serve as gateways for North American, Asian, and intra-European trade, meaning disruptions ripple across automotive, retail, electronics, and consumer goods sectors.

This situation underscores the operational vulnerability of hub-and-spoke port networks, particularly when three major facilities simultaneously experience congestion. Supply chain teams should consider diversifying port selections, accelerating cargo pickups to minimize port time, and reviewing carrier service level agreements to clarify congestion-related delay accountability. Monitoring Maersk's updates and broader port authority communications will be critical for the next 2–4 weeks.