Global Events Update - July 19th

Systems Outages: Global chaos has ensued today due to a widespread outage affecting numerous Windows systems worldwide, both servers and workstations systems. The outages appear to be the result of an error in the latest CrowdStrike update. Airports and airlines seem to be the most affected, but the Port of Genova was also experiencing issues that could be a derivative of this as well. We are not hearing of any other impacts to ocean carriers or terminals.

Genova: We have received word that the Port of Genova’s computer system was blocked this morning but as of noon local time the system was back up and running. During the outage the terminal was trying to operate manually, but the slower operations created congestion with long queues of trucks waiting to enter and exit the gate. We hope that the backlog and congestion from the temporary outage will be recovered soon. Please contact your forwarder for any substantial shipment delays.

South Africa: The Port of Cape Town is dealing with continued backlog caused by the severe weather conditions. South Africa’s freight news by ftw reported that there has been a loss of at least 70 operating hours. This loss has created turmoil at the port, with truckers who are fed up with the chaos and delays using foul language toward port staff and even becoming violent. Many truckers are entering gates without appointments causing even more backlog and chaos. Because of this, the Transnet Port Terminals have closed their gates to alleviate congestion. Additionally, there is a shortage of flexi grade containers and more severe weather forecasted which will cause even more delays. We will continue to monitor the situation.

ILA: There was an announcement yesterday from USMX (The US Maritime Alliance) that there is “forward movement” in the negotiations. The general opinion in the industry is that a strike will be avoided, but we will continue to keep you updated as news emerges.