Mundra and Nhava Sheva congestion exposes why route risk matters before cargo moves

Congestion at Mundra and Nhava Sheva (JNPA) has started easing after weeks of disruption, with vessel waiting times at Mundra falling to 2–3 days from a peak of 8–10 days. However, cargo backlogs and schedule reliability remain under pressure across India's west coast.

The disruption was triggered by a combination of vessel bunching, truck driver shortages, higher transshipment volumes diverted from the Middle East, and blank sailings. When a scheduled sailing is cancelled, export containers remain at terminals until the next available vessel. As multiple blank sailings occur, terminals become congested, truck turnaround slows, and subsequent vessels arrive off-schedule, creating a cascading backlog that can take weeks or even months to unwind.

Industry updates indicate conditions are improving, but full normalization will depend on carriers restoring schedule integrity and clearing accumulated cargo. Most logistics providers expect congestion to continue easing through the coming weeks, although some schedule disruptions may persist until the backlog is fully absorbed.