BULLETIN : VICTORIA INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL ( VICT) REMAINS CLOSED 22.01.24
Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) in the Port of Melbourne was closed Friday evening, 19 January 2024, when protesters blocked the Terminal entry gates.
VICT continues to remain closed at this point in time as a result of the protests. Authorities remain at the scene.
Furthermore, DP World’s West Swanson Terminal (WST) continues to be affected by industrial action, and construction works on the West Gate Tunnel Project are causing significant delays to the road network. All of these issues combined, stretching into next week, will have a debilitating impact on the landside movement of container freight in and out of the Port of Melbourne.
At least four container vessels are impacted by this Terminal shutdown, including APL DETROIT and ZIM GANGES which are in Port Phillip Bay. The latter vessel is the target of the Pro-Palestinian protesters.
There has been an increase in trade volume through VICT since the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has added services to North East Asia and South East Asia, as well as vessels being subcontracted to VICT because of the conflict with DP World.
This coming week will likely see landside logistics delays as container carriers work with the Terminal to clear the backlog of imports and reschedule exports.
Our teams are monitoring at container level and will continue to strive to extract the best outcome for any affected clients during this time.