If you've got containers moving through India's east coast right now, you're probably staring at a tracking screen that hasn't moved in a while. You're not alone.
Cyclone Arnab made landfall along the Andhra Pradesh coast this week, and it didn't come quietly. Visakhapatnam, Gangavaram, Krishnapatnam-three of the region's key container gateways-were all squarely in the storm's path. Port operations were suspended or heavily restricted as authorities rushed to protect people, vessels, and infrastructure.
The numbers tell the story of a region that's been through the wringer. Tens of thousands evacuated. Power poles snapped like twigs. Low-lying areas of Visakhapatnam flooded. And out at sea, a bulk carrier lost propulsion and ran aground near Antarvedi after discharging cargo at Visakhapatnam-a stark reminder of how quickly things can go sideways when weather and shipping collide.
The Mess Doesn't End When the Wind Dies Down
Here's the part that matters most for shippers: even as terminals slowly start moving again, the backlog is already baked in.
Visakhapatnam is a critical feeder hub for cargo moving to and from Kolkata, and it handles hundreds of thousands of TEUs a year. When a port like that goes dark for even a few days, the ripple effects don't stay local. Vessels bunch up. Feeder connections get missed. Cargo evacuation slows to a crawl. And the whole thing lands on a network that was already dealing with congestion from delayed arrivals out of Asia.
Colombo isn't helping either. Vessel waiting times there are already running around two days because of transhipment congestion and routing changes. Add a cyclone to that mix, and you've got a supply chain that's being squeezed from both ends.
This Is Where a Real Partner Earns Their Keep
Markets like this expose the difference between a forwarder who books space and a partner who actually knows how to move cargo when the obvious route slams shut.
At Xiamen AE Global, we've been navigating India's coastal disruptions since 2018. We're a government-licensed forwarder with IATA, FIATA, FMC, and NVOCC credentials-which means when a port suspends operations, we're not waiting in a customer service queue. We're talking directly to carriers, terminals, and customs authorities.
- We see the ground truth, not just the advisory. With over 100 overseas agents worldwide, we have partners standing at the gates in Visakhapatnam, Krishnapatnam, and Colombo. When a terminal says it's "resuming operations," we know whether that means full productivity or a slow trickle. That intelligence is what lets us reroute your cargo before it gets buried in a backlog.
- We move cargo across modes, not just across oceans. When ocean schedules fall apart on India's east coast, the answer isn't always another vessel. Sometimes it's air freight for the time-sensitive portion through our IATA-certified division. Sometimes it's adjusting the feeder plan or shifting the load port. We handle LCL consolidation in-house, so we're not passing your shipment to a third party and hoping they prioritize it.
- We manage the paperwork when the routing changes. Cargo discharged at an alternative port or rolled to a different feeder creates a customs puzzle. Our destination agents handle that so your containers don't sit idle while documents chase the new plan.
- We tell you early, with options attached. Our visibility tools aren't there to give you a prettier tracking number. They're there so that when a sailing gets omitted or a terminal pushes back its gate, you hear it from us first-with a plan, not just a problem.
We've moved more than 12,000 TEUs in a single year with a 98.6% on-time delivery rate for our SME clients. That's not luck. It's knowing the lanes, knowing the partners, and knowing how to react when the weather decides to rewrite your schedule.
The Bottom Line
Cyclone Arnab is another reminder that supply chains don't run on spreadsheets. They run on ports that stay open, feeders that connect, and partners who pick up the phone when the forecast turns ugly. The recovery on India's east coast will take time-and the backlog won't clear overnight.
At Xiamen AE Global, we don't just move boxes. We help our clients keep moving when the coast is literally underwater.
Got cargo caught in the Cyclone Arnab disruption? Contact Xiamen AE Global today-and let's find a way to get it moving again.
