THE Port of Southampton is running without delays currently despite other sites across the country having to divert cargo.

Associated British Ports said the Port of Southampton is not currently facing the same challenges as other ports across the UK.

This comes as shipping giant Maersk said it is diverting vessels away from ports because of a build-up of cargo.

The company has started re-routing container ships away from Felixstowe, the UK’s largest commercial port, to unload elsewhere in Europe before using smaller vessels to finally get deliveries to the UK, the Financial Times reported.

Lars Mikael Jensen, head of global ocean network at Maersk, said the HGV driver shortage has slowed down the time it takes for containers to be emptied and picked up.

But in a statement, an ABP spokesperson said: “ABP is aware of the challenges some UK ports are facing; however ABP’s significant investment in infrastructure, people, equipment and technology has meant that we are well placed to manage the present challenges.

“Our teams at all locations are working hard with our customers and other supply chain partners, and we can confirm that all of ABP’s operations in our 21 ports are currently running without any delays or disruption to services.”

Southampton’s container terminal is also thought to be operating as normal, although DP World, the company that runs the terminal, declined to comment on the ongoing problems at other ports.

But Tim Morris, chief executive officer of the UK Major Ports Group, said that trade ports had become “the jam in the sandwich between surging, volatile shipping and UK supply chains badly impacted by factors such as HGV driver shortages”.

He added: “Ports have taken significant action to respond to the challenges and build resilience.

“They have extended gate opening to 24/7, increased capacity for trucks at peak hours, sought to maximise rail freight usage within the significant constraints of the network, created additional storage space and recruited more people.

“But the pressures are being exacerbated by well-publicised issues impacting all UK supply chains, notably shortages of HGV drivers.

“Ports therefore have to manage access to storage space very dynamically in extreme situations. This can mean some very limited short-term restrictions.”