Hapag-Lloyd temporarily suspended “acceptance of shipments” bound for Riyadh via the Port of Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

“Riyadh-bound containers are experiencing prolonged delays due to the ongoing terminal congestion in DammamPort. We shall resume bookings once the situation improves,” the German carrier said.

The carrier also imposed “operational recovery charges” of $85 per 20-foot and $125 per 40-foot container on all import and export shipments handled at the ports of Jeddah and Dammam, starting July 20.

DammamPort is the nearest container gateway to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital and largest city.

Reports from the Arab country said current port clogging problems at Dammam are mainly because of a rapid surge in container volumes moving to and from this region.

Dammam handled about 417,000 TEUs from January through March, up from about 329,000 TEUs for the same period last year.

The Journal of Commerce Online