Russian tsunami impacts trade routes

A TSUNAMI triggered by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake off Russia on 30 July is having a widespread impact.

West Australian ports like Fremantle and Kwinana kept a wary eye out and some berths at Fremantle were adjusted, but the ports have now resumed normal operations under higher than usual surveillance.

No abnormal water movement has been observed at Perth, Fremantle, or Bunbury ports according to Bureau of Meteorology radar data.

Late Wednesday Hawaii was bracing for possible wave impact after what was the strongest earthquake since 2011.

In Japan warnings were still in place for eastern coastal prefectures and residents warned to stay off beaches.

In the Phillipines eastern provinces including Samar and Leyte have initiated emergency response protocols. There had been no confirmed wave damage, but several coastal communities have moved residents inland.

In Russia’s Kamchatka and Kuril Islands, closest to the epicentre, some coastal zones saw water level fluctuations up to 0.8 meters, prompting localised flooding and power outages. Emergency services are active across Sakhalin and Magadan Oblasts.

On the North Pacific route there were major delays and reroutes as Japan, Hawaii, and US West Coast ports faced temporary closures and tsunami alerts.

Anchorage congestion and schedule slips were observed on Asia–US lines.

Container lines including OOCL and MSC were rerouting via Singapore and Port Klang to avoid Pacific turbulence.

In the Russian Far East, ports like Vladivostok paused operations and coastal and feeder services were interrupted.

And on a broader front global insurers and freight forwarders have activated regional force majeure clauses in response to delayed schedules.