Maersk says Colombo congestion is expected to persist through November

Maersk stated in its North America Market Update, published on 6 November 2026, that congestion at Colombo is expected to continue through November and may affect cargo transit times and connection planning for shipments moving through the hub. The carrier did not publish berth-waiting figures, yard-density data, vessel queue lengths, terminal-specific disruption details, or a date for normalization in that update.

A separate Maersk Asia Pacific update, also dated 6 November, classified Colombo within a group of ports showing an indicated vessel waiting time of one to three days. That page says the information was correct to the best of Maersk’s knowledge at publication and remained dynamic. It provides some consistency with the carrier’s warning, but it is not independent corroboration because both publications are from the same company.

**Verified facts:** Maersk’s published guidance identifies Colombo congestion as an active November operational consideration and advises customers to confirm transshipment timing and retain flexibility for cargo moving through affected hubs. Its Asia-Pacific publication places Colombo in the one-to-three-day waiting-time category as of its publication date.

**Analysis:** For shipowners, charterers and cargo interests, the immediate exposure is less the headline waiting-time range than the potential knock-on effect on connections. Colombo is widely used as a transshipment hub; therefore, a missed feeder or mainline connection can extend delivery variance beyond the berth delay itself. This is an operational inference from the carrier’s warning, not a demonstrated forecast of delay for every vessel or cargo movement.

Operators should distinguish this general advisory from voyage-specific conditions. Actual exposure will depend on terminal allocation, berth window, vessel sequence, cargo cut-off, reefer and dangerous-goods handling requirements, available feeder capacity, and the terms governing freight, delay and cargo-delivery obligations. The consulted evidence does not establish that a particular terminal is closed, that a vessel is unsafe to call, or that any contractual delay threshold has been met.

**Why this matters:** Cargo planners and claims handlers may wish to preserve time-stamped schedule, gate-in, load-list, transshipment and notification records where Colombo is in the routing. Those records can help separate a documented port or network disruption from other causes of late delivery. This is a recordkeeping observation, not legal advice or a finding of liability.