The First ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) is the first planned arrival date our system obtained from the shipping lines’ database. The deviation between the first ETA and the actual arrival date gives the number of days that the container arrived early or delayed.

The post What is the first ETA? appeared first on Shipsgo Blog.

The Meishan terminal of China’s Ningbo-Zhoushan container port, the world’s third busiest port, was closed.

Ningbo Meidong Container Terminal Corp, a subsidiary of Ningbo Zhoushan Port Company Ltd, stopped all loading and discharging services as of 03:30 local time on Wednesday. The reason for stopping the port’s working activities is the staff tested positive for COVID-19.

On the other hand, when a Covid-19 outbreak was detected in Yantian Port in late May, operations at the major export hub in southern China were interrupted by 70% for most of June. Most ports in the country now require Covid-19 testing for all crew, and ships are forced to stay at anchor until negative results are confirmed. In addition, many ports in the country require vessels that have previously docked in India to be quarantined for 14-28 days.

The closure is thought to cause a delay of 15 days to the Mediterranean and Europe. Experts point out that even a two or three days delay leaves huge problems behind. An expert makes the following assessment on the subject: “There is no free capacity in any port of the world – especially in Chinese ports – that can be used extra. The effect of the 2-3 day closure will lead to delays of up to 15 days in the Mediterranean and Europe. I liken it to the long queue due to an accident on the highway.”

ShipsGo’s Attitude

ShipsGo immediately notified hundreds of users to make them avoid any negative issues related to the Ningbo Port. We informed our users by saying, ” due to this situation, the arrival date of your shipments will be delayed.” In addition to that, we include some points in our notifications, such as; first ETD date (estimated time of departure) from Ningbo, updated ETD date, and POD date (port of delivery) are available. ShipsGo users have been prevented from a possible negative outcome by the Shipsgo tracking system and the notification emails.

The post Container Port Closed in Ningbo appeared first on Shipsgo Blog.

Shipping Lines’ schedules are not reliable. According to SeaIntelligence, on-time arrivals ranged from 65 to 76 percent in the first nine months of 2018. It is evident that, as a forwarder or BCO, the visibility of your carrier(s) is essential thing for your logistics operational efficiency. As one shipper told the Journal of Commerce Magazine, “supply chains are frequently built around the container transport portion,” and “delays impact relationships with suppliers and customers.” Inaccurate ETAs and a lack of visibility also hinder production lines or create discounting woes for apparel shippers whose goods might be delayed past a promotional season.

Solution

ShipsGo after each shipment, informs you concerning the performance of your shipping lines and suggests you (if any) another shipping line having shorter transit time. Make your shipments visible.

About ShipsGo

ShipsGo’s vision is to make people happy with the information. Since the beginning of our journey in the container transportation business, we have been trying to organize the shipping industry’s information and make it accessible universally. We have developed our well-known two products in the digital container transportation market; container tracking and route finder. These two products were developed for “visibility” in container transport. We provide information on the current position of containers and carriers’ route performances (transit time and reliability). We have reached 5,000 daily searches on our website from 70+ countries and plan to reach 30,000 daily searches worldwide.

The post Ocean Schedules of Shipping Lines are not Reliable appeared first on Shipsgo Blog.