North Europe ports effectively manage congestion and adverse Atlantic weather conditions.
Major North European container hubs were experiencing significant yard and berth pressures throughout mid December 2025, compounded with challenging Atlantic weather systems which disrupted schedules and productivity. At Antwerp's Port, seven day vessel waiting times averaged 1.06 days with high yard utilization across key terminals: Q913 reported approximately 70% overall utilization with reefers at 50% utilization while empties reached 95%, while Q869 operated at 88% with reefers reaching 90% and empties 95%, prompting terminal operators to evacuate empty containers before 21 December to prevent further operational bottlenecks from occurring in terms of operational bottlenecks from occurring further operational bottlenecks from occurring before then.
Germany's Hamburg terminals remained under pressure as construction works that began in September reduced berth capacity. At CTA Terminals, yard utilization averaged approximately 68 percent with reefers filling to capacity while the berth operating at full capacity. The first remotely operated GQ crane unit entered service, but still required considerable bug-fixing - therefore productivity, while gradually improving, fell below expected standards. CTH reported mainline vessels arriving outside their berthing windows causing additional yard pressure and scheduling complexity, with Rotterdam reporting an average waiting time for vessels of approximately 1.14 days on average per month. Although overall national terminal performance was considered stable, ECT operated with a yard capacity of about 85% and barge and feeder delays decreased to less than 30 hours. MVII experienced yard density of 98%, with stack crane maintenance impeding both landside and quayside productivity. Delta II continued to struggle with inter terminal transfers even as overall operations remained stable.
UK container hubs were affected by high winds, fog and congestion issues on Friday and Saturday.
United Kingdom ports experienced weather related disruptions that hampered both shipside and landside performance during the second half of December. At London Gateway, the seven day average vessel waiting time was approximately one day and yard utilisation approached 66%; reefers comprised approximately 53% while empty inventory amounted to approximately 4, 200 TEU. Recent weeks saw IT outages, crane breakdowns and pilot station closures due to severe weather that hindered operations and disturbed regular service patterns, disrupting operations. Substantial adverse weather in the Bay of Biscay delayed mainline vessel arrivals, creating bunching and subsequent berth congestion when multiple ships arrived simultaneously. These dynamics made berth planning challenging, and increased risk for deepsea services using Thames hub.
In Southampton, operational disruption was more serious. All shipside operations were suspended on 17 December due to dense fog, leading to an average waiting time for vessels of 1.2 days averaging 7 days each week at the yard and operating at roughly 91% for dry containers and 75% for reefers. Southampton was hit with three events over two weeks: a 50 hour pilotage closure from 5 to 7 December; 12 hour stoppage on 9 December and an unexpected fog event on 13 December that delayed shipside work by approximately two hours. On December 6, approximately 15 containers reportedly fell overboard, prompting temporary draft restrictions and compounding berth congestion as authorities prioritised navigational safety. Forecasts for further wind and rain indicated the continued risk of operational suspensions for tightly utilized terminals subject to meteorological instability.
Asian Gateways have adapted well to equipment upgrades, dredging and schedule variance.
Mid December port operations across Asia revealed both infrastructure upgrades and routine maintenance activities that altered berth planning and yard performance, impacting berth planning. Malaysia's Port of Tanjung Pelepas had an average seven day vessel waiting time of 1.67 days due to new quay crane commissionings as well as removal of older units from use over time. While such changes should increase long term productivity and vessel handling capability, transition phases require frequent adjustments to berth windows and crane deployment thus increasing complexity for short term operational planning.
Vietnamese Haiphong Port reported an average vessel waiting time of one day as maintenance dredging at its HICT terminal continued. Scheduled to begin December 2025 and finish late January 2026, its aim is to maintain declared draft levels and secure access for larger vessels. During these works temporary depth constraints caused by dredging units can interfere with manoeuvring and berthing sequences, prompting operators and carriers to work more closely together on arrival timing and underkeel clearance clearance clearance sequences; yet regardless of these challenges the port managed to keep waiting times reasonably short, suggesting capacity/traffic balance was maintained reasonably during maintenance window.
Americas ports face high winds, river closures and inclement weather that have an adverse impact.
In December in the Americas, both river ports and ocean gateways were affected by weather and hydrological conditions. Strong winds in Brazil caused port operations at Parana ports to cease on 10 December at 11.00 local time due to safety precautions; vessel arrivals and departures along the grain and commodity export corridor provided by ports like Paranagua were affected significantly due to this closure due to wind-induced maneuvers; such closures highlight how vulnerable coastal and river approaches are during peak export windows due to meteorological events that impact them quickly.
Vancover on North American west coast experienced an average seven day vessel waiting time of around 1.6 days around 18 December, while surrounding areas experienced flooding, yet port and rail operations continued as smoothly as before. Deliveries outside Vancouver were affected, reflecting the interdependence between marine terminals and inland transport infrastructure. At Los Angeles port, average vessel waiting time averaged 1.33 days during that week. APM Terminals reported dense morning fog that interrupted trucking operations and resulted in delays; gate appointment structures remained unchanged and extended truck turn times were expected. These disruptions correspond with wider North American market conditions which included relatively fluid gateway operations and lower seasonal volumes compared to their midyear throughput peak earlier in 2025.
Further north on the United States east coast, operational information for Connecticut and Long Island Sound ports dated 24 December highlighted detailed tidal data for New Haven Harbor and surrounding approaches. Although this advisory primarily provided navigational timing information regarding high and low tides, it also highlighted the ongoing necessity for careful tidal planning when making deep draft calls in constrained channels and harbours with limited depth depth capacity - particularly considering winter weather patterns common to North Atlantic/New England regions that can affect arrival windows/pilotage schedules.
Future port operations will be driven by regulatory and cyber security advancements in their operations.
December 2025 was marred by regulatory and policy developments likely to impact port operations over the medium-term. An industry newsletter reported that the European Maritime Safety Agency released their 2025 Port Environmental Performance report, offering updated benchmarking information regarding emissions, energy use and environmental management among EU ports. Sources have reported that the EU Agency for Cybersecurity ENISA published guidance for protecting industrial Internet of Things systems used in port operations at an event held in Athens. This guidance addresses risks related to connected cranes, sensors, gate systems and other operational technology, reflecting growing concern that cyber incidents could impact cargo handling operations or vessel movements directly.
Port Houston of the US Gulf region held its December 2025 Commission Meeting and approved several initiatives designed to support global trade and future capacity expansion. According to publicly available summaries, the port reported a drop in November container volumes as compared with earlier in the year; however, total container TEUs for 2025 increased about five percent while tonnage rose four percent year-to-date. The port's governing board advanced projects focused on channel improvements, terminal efficiency improvements and long term growth; positioning the port to meet increasing demands from Gulf Coast petrochemical, manufacturing and consumer markets. Together, these regulatory and investment decisions illustrate that ports are taking proactive measures to manage weather-induced disruptions while investing in environmental performance, cyber resilience and capacity expansion in order to keep up with evolving trade patterns.