Humidity has the power to wreak untold havoc on certain cargo types.
Fertilizers, for instance, are hygroscopic, meaning they absorb moisture once humidity reaches a certain level. This often leads to slow unloading, increased reliance on trimming equipment, and greater safety risks for stevedores.
In severe cases, cargoes can clump or cake together, requiring excavators to break them apart, further delaying operations and risking equipment damage.
Protecting cargoes from such risks means that delays at port are a frequent occurrence in areas of high humidity.
Underestimating or overlooking the impact of humidity related port delays can quickly eat into margins.
Reducing risk exposure requires a good understanding of the realistic efficiency and delays at various terminals where humidity is a recurring cause of delays so that the appropriate buffers can be built into P&L calculations.
What the team look at
The Marcura Intelligence team analysed 1,300+ port calls delayed by humidity. It identifies ports where moisture regularly disrupts cargo operations, often significant financial consequences.
Download the complete study for the full analysis, including humidity thresholds, delay patterns, and detailed port-by-port risk assessments.
What the data showed
Detailed analysis highlighted the Middle East and North Africa as the hot spots (no pun intended) for humidity related delays at port.
In some countries across the region, more than 70% of fertilizer loading operations suffer from humidity related delays. In other ports, it’s closer to 100%.
Delays are typically 1-4 days, but in extreme cases humidity can lead to delays of up to 17 days.
The following provides a snapshot of the frequency of delays in key ports and the average delay when humidity becomes an issue.
Access the full findings
Download the full report to get the full port-by-port analysis
It comes at night
Warm air can hold more humidity than cold air, so you might expect humidity levels to peak during the daytime. In regions like the Middle East and North Africa, the opposite is true. High daytime temperatures cause moisture in the air to evaporate. It’s at night, when things start to cool down that lingering moisture in the atmosphere has the greatest potential to create havoc. Our data shows operations typically suspend when relative humidity exceeds 74-86%, with delays most frequently occurring between 18:00-09:00 hours when moisture levels peak.
The bottom line
At Jubail, Saudi Arabia, additional dockage costs of $530 per day accumulate during humidity delays. At Damietta, Egypt, extra berth dues range between $500-800 per day. The study shows operational efficiency drops 30-50% during humid periods, with some terminals recording gross loading rates falling from 12,000+ MT/day to under 8,000 MT/day.
Mitigating risk
High humidity can cause delays and extra costs. If you can't simply raise your freight rate to cover this risk, you should try to insert specific clauses into your charter part to share or reduce this risk. For example, you could negotiate a rule that says if humidity at the port is too high, laytime still counts, either fully or partially, protecting you financially. If you can't negotiate this, you’ll need to carefully estimate potential delays caused by humidity and build extra time or buffers into your profit calculations. For port calls that have been affected by humidity we always encourage customers to instruct agents to record humidity as an event in the SOF as opposed the to the more general ‘bad weather’ classification.
How Marcura can help
Managing humidity-related delays is crucial for fertilizer traders, vessel operators, and charterers operating in moisture-sensitive cargo trades. Humidity disruption is a predictable reality in Middle Eastern and North African ports, but Marcura's PortLog platform helps users plan around it. Drawing on comprehensive historical humidity data, PortLog flags high-risk ports and seasons, tracks associated delay patterns, and provides humidity-specific buffer recommendations for fertilizer cargoes.
Key features for humidity risk management:
Port-specific humidity thresholds and historical delay frequencies
Seasonal pattern analysis showing peak risk periods
Time-of-day risk indicators highlighting problematic hours (18:00-09:00)
Fertilizer-specific delay benchmarks and efficiency metrics
Charter party clause recommendations for humidity-related laytime
Fertilizer traders and charterers can use this intelligence to negotiate appropriate weather time allowances, schedule operations during lower-risk daylight hours, and build realistic voyage estimates that account for predictable humidity patterns.
