What is a Blank Sailing?
A Blank Sailing—also known as a void sailing—occurs when an ocean carrier cancels a scheduled port call or skips an entire voyage on a published sailing schedule. This means a vessel that was expected to depart or arrive will not operate as planned, often with little notice.
Blank sailings can impact one or more ports on a route and are typically used by carriers to adjust capacity in response to market demand, port congestion, equipment shortages, or seasonal slowdowns.
Why Would a Carrier Use a Blank Sailing?
- Balance supply and demand in the face of low cargo volumes
- Manage costs during weak market conditions
- Realign vessels across trade lanes
- Respond to external disruptions (e.g., port strikes, weather events, canal delays)
How a Blank Sailing Can Impact Shippers
- Delays in cargo delivery or longer transit times
- Reduced vessel space availability on remaining sailings
- Increased freight rates due to capacity tightening
- Need to rebook containers or reroute shipments
- Potential disruption to supply chains and inventory planning
Example in Practice
A shipper in Los Angeles is booked on a vessel headed to Shanghai, but the carrier announces a blank sailing due to low demand. The shipper must now rebook the container on the next available vessel, adding 7–10 days to the delivery schedule and potentially paying a higher rate.
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