UK import vessel ETA adjustments

At Maersk we are making a dedicated effort to alleviate pain in our customers’ supply chain, providing visibility, clarity and predictability where we can. We recognise that recently, specifically for cargo arriving into the UK this has not been the case, as such we are addressing this uncertainty.

Currently when our customers have made a booking or searched for a product from A to B on Maersk.com, the arrival was based on a ‘proforma schedule’ lifted from a relatively static internal planning system. Given the infrastructure bottlenecks we face today, vessels are delayed beyond their initial proforma schedule, leading to actual transit times being longer than what we initially indicated to customers at the time of searching/booking.

As such, going forward we will implement a process where we update schedules dynamically with our teams best realistic expectation four weeks before the start of each voyage. The predictions are based on information from our frontline operators, who sit closest to our operation, and includes actual waiting time in ports, actual terminal productivity levels, weather data and any change in events happening at sea. As such we are making the most accurate information which Maersk has, available to our customers, so you can get a better view of what to expect given the current circumstances.

This practice also means that when we partner with other carriers (through Vessel Sharing Agreements or VSAs), customers may see different schedules for the same ship. We are mindful that this might cause some initial confusion, but we will never stop trying to alleviate our customers pain points and try to offer the best tools and data for our customers to more effectively manage their supply chains – and we firmly believe that this improved accuracy can help do just that.

If you have any questions, please contact your local sales or customer experience representative.