Port Pulse: Amsterdam leads waits at 35.4 hours

Welcome to the latest issue of Port Pulse, where we review vessel traffic, anchorage waits and open tonnage across 11 key North Sea and Baltic ports over the last 14 days. Our metrics derive directly from continuous AIS ship-position reports, offering a transparent view of terminal activity. Below, we break down the figures across congestion, turnaround and available tonnage.

The largest:

• SEA JADE, tanker, about 262k dwt · Rotterdam
• HAUKE OLDENDORFF, bulk carrier, about 177k dwt · Rotterdam
• ANTELAO, bulk carrier, about 166k dwt · Rotterdam
• VOLTA, bulk carrier, about 164k dwt · Amsterdam
• MIAOULIS 21, oil tanker, about 145k dwt · Gdansk

What it suggests

Over the 14-day observation window, Amsterdam recorded the highest median wait time at 35.4 hours, followed closely by Felixstowe at 38.3 hours. Conversely, Rotterdam handled the highest volume of traffic with 867 port calls, while maintaining a low median wait of just 1.4 hours and 12 vessels currently at anchor against an average of 22.5. Open tonnage concentrations varied widely, led by Rotterdam at 138 vessels and Antwerp at 73, while Felixstowe registered zero open tonnage in our reporting window. While these position-derived figures highlight relative terminal efficiency and immediate vessel availability, we cannot determine cargo values, specific contractual delays, or onshore logistics bottlenecks from AIS data alone. These estimates carry inherent confidence scores and should be used for situational awareness rather than official port statistics.