Cargo ships diverted from UK port over shortage of HGV drivers

Shipping bosses have predicted disruption to the UK supply chain to continue “well into next year” as a shortage of lorry drivers is causing a bottleneck at ports and forcing cargo firms to divert goods.

Maersk, the world’s largest cargo company, has re-routed its vessels away from Felixstowe, a port in Suffolk, England, after they were waiting four to seven days to be offloaded.

The backlog is caused by a lack of heavy goods vehicle drivers to transport the imported items away from the port, through which a third (36 per cent) of UK freight passes through.

Other ports across the UK are also affected by bottlenecks which have prompted warnings for shoppers.

The HGV shortages last month led to a fuel crisis when companies rationed deliveries of petrol and diesel to forecourts and motorists had to queue for hours to fill their tanks.

A Maersk spokeswoman said the ships, each carrying thousands of containers, were being redirected to continental ports such as Rotterdam and Antwerp.

Cargo would then be loaded onto smaller vessels to dock at other British ports or at Felixstowe when space opens up.

The spokeswoman said the firm was committed to getting goods to Britain for Black Friday and Christmas.

Lars Mikael Jensen, head of global ocean network at Danish-owned Maersk, said the shortage of qualified drivers has slowed 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,” he said.

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

“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.”

Adam Searle, of CP Transport, which operates 45 lorries out of Felixstowe, said the shortages had created a “nightmare” for the shipping industry.

He warned that the final rush towards Christmas would be problematic.

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.”

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”.

He said: “Ports have taken significant action to respond to the challenges and build resilience.

“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.

“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.

“Ports are committed to working closely with customers and entire supply chains to keep goods moving.”

And Peter Wilson, group managing director of Cory Brothers, warned of possible continued disruption to the supply chain over the coming weeks and months.

Speaking to BBC Radio Four’s Today programme on Wednesday, he said the “significant delays” blighting ports across the UK could potentially continue “well into next year”.

Mr Wilson said people preparing to celebrate Christmas should plan their shopping list in advance to avoid disappointment.

“What I would say to the consumer is be sensible, think ahead, plan appropriately and order your Christmas goods and the items that you need in a timely fashion to ensure that you have them,” he said.

“I think that we will see things being delivered. There is a potential nearer to Christmas to see some items maybe not being available on the shelves. But this supply chain will not fail.”

But Oliver Dowden, co-chair of the Conservative Party, said the UK government was “getting on with the job of addressing” the problems at ports by trying to fill the gaps in the market for HGV drivers.

He pointed to a visa scheme for 5,000 overseas lorry drivers to come to Britain to work and also measures aimed at making it easier for Britons to qualify as lorry drivers.

He said the lack of drivers was “clearly a challenging problem” at ports but said the UK was not alone in this problem as the US, China and some European countries are also suffering from not having enough drivers to meet demand.

“It’s all about this wider point which is we need to get the skills here, have those higher paid jobs and actually the latest news just yesterday about increases in wages is a real example of how that strategy is working,” he told Sky News.

“The situation is improving. I am confident that people will be able to get their toys for Christmas.”

He urged shoppers to “buy as you do normally” in the run up to Christmas.

A spokesman for Felixstowe port said it was majority of containers arriving on ships are cleared for collection within minutes 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,” he added.

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