Data through 2026-10-25 (25 October 2026)
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Cyclone Freddy halts cargo handling at the port of Beira in Mozambique

Cyclone Freddy halts cargo handling at the port of Beira in Mozambique. The disruption ran from 2023-02-22 (22 February 2023) to 2023-03-01 (March 2023), affecting Beira. The measured effect for this event has not been computed yet.

World Freight Monitor permanent record. https://worldfreightmonitor.com/events/2023/cyclone-freddy-beira-port-2023/. Record last updated 2026-10-29.

Key facts

Started
2023-02-22 (22 February 2023)
Ended
2023-03-01 (March 2023)
Status
ended
Severity
2 Moderate
Scope
port
Chokepoints
None
Ports
Beira
Lanes
None
Countries
Mozambique
Confidence
medium: The February closure is reported by two wire services quoting the terminal operator, and the March suspension by a shipping agent and by a trade report of the state company's annual report. No source gives reopening dates, and the CFM report itself was not located.
First reported
2023-02-22 (22 February 2023)
  • Severity basis: Cargo handling paused from 2023-02-23, and CFM reports a 10 day March suspension of three Beira operations, which falls in the 24 hours to 7 days port band and the over 72 hours terminal band.

What happened

Tropical Cyclone Freddy interrupted cargo handling at the port of Beira in central Mozambique in two spells in 2023. Ships were cleared from the port on 2023-02-22 (22 February 2023), and the terminal operator Cornelder de Moçambique paused handling from the morning of 2023-02-23, saying the port would stay shut until 19:00 on 2023-02-24 if the weather allowed. On 2023-03-10 (10 March 2023) a shipping agent reported the port closed until further notice as the storm approached again. Mozambique's state ports and railways company later reported that its Beira oil terminal, coal terminal and maritime services stopped for 10 days in March, and that the Sena rail line was shut for 35 days. The sources reviewed give no exact reopening dates for either spell.

Measured effect

Port calls, Beira

Not yet computed. The effect engine (wfm-effect-1.2) will compare 2023-02-22 to 2023-03-31 with a 56 day baseline ending 8 days before the start, once the series for this window is loaded.

Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.

Window set by the editor: The window runs to the end of March 2023 because the CFM report places the 10 day suspension in March without giving dates.

This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.

Dry bulk port calls, Beira

Not yet computed. The effect engine (wfm-effect-1.2) will compare 2023-02-22 to 2023-03-31 with a 56 day baseline ending 8 days before the start, once the series for this window is loaded.

Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.

Window set by the editor: The window runs to the end of March 2023 because the CFM report places the 10 day suspension in March without giving dates.

This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.

Timeline

  1. A shipping agent reports that all ships have left the Beira port berths for the anchorage and that force majeure applies, with the national weather institute forecasting landfall for 2023-02-24. [s3]
  2. Cornelder de Moçambique tells clients it is pausing operations at Beira from the morning, ahead of the cyclone. [s2]
  3. The operator says the port will stay closed until 19:00 local time, subject to the weather improving. The sources reviewed do not confirm when handling resumed. [s1] [s2]
  4. The state ports and railways company CFM later reports that Freddy halted its Beira oil terminal, coal terminal (TCC 8) and maritime services for 10 days in March, and that the Sena rail line was shut for 35 days. [s5]
  5. A shipping agent advises that Beira port is closed until further notice as Freddy approaches the Mozambique Channel for a second time. [s4]

Cause

Cargo handling stopped ahead of and during the passage of Tropical Cyclone Freddy, which the national weather institute forecast would make landfall in Mozambique on 2023-02-24. Attributed by: Cornelder de Moçambique and CFM, as reported by Reuters, Bloomberg, Inchcape Shipping Services and Club of Mozambique. [s1] [s3] [s5]

Resolution

2023-03-01 (1 March 2023): The sources reviewed give no reopening dates. CFM's report says the March suspension of its oil terminal, coal terminal and maritime services lasted 10 days, so the record ends at month precision in March 2023. [s5]

Corrections

No corrections to this record as of 2026-10-29 (29 October 2026).

Sources

  1. [s1] Daily Maverick (Reuters), Mozambicans seek shelter, Beira port closed as Storm Freddy nears, published 2023-02-24 (24 February 2023), accessed 2026-10-28. Archived copy. (press)
  2. [s2] American Journal of Transportation (Bloomberg), Storm Freddy roars in, halting trade at key Mozambican port, published 2023-02-24 (24 February 2023), accessed 2026-10-28. Archived copy. (press)
  3. [s3] Inchcape Shipping Services, Cyclone Freddy approaches Mozambique, published 2023-02-22 (22 February 2023), accessed 2026-10-28. Archived copy. (press)
  4. [s4] Inchcape Shipping Services, Cyclone Fredy - 2nd Landfall, published 2023-03-10 (10 March 2023), accessed 2026-10-28. Archived copy. (press)
  5. [s5] Club of Mozambique (reporting the CFM annual report), Mozambique's state-owned ports and railways posts E43 million profit in 2023, published 2024-07-29 (29 July 2024), accessed 2026-10-28. Archived copy. (press)

Cite this record

The address of this record is permanent and a correction is always logged on this page, so a citation names the version you read. Add the date you accessed it.

Plain text

World Freight Monitor. "Cyclone Freddy halts cargo handling at the port of Beira in Mozambique." Last updated 2026-10-29 (29 October 2026). https://worldfreightmonitor.com/events/2023/cyclone-freddy-beira-port-2023/

APA

World Freight Monitor. (2026). Cyclone Freddy halts cargo handling at the port of Beira in Mozambique. World Freight Monitor. https://worldfreightmonitor.com/events/2023/cyclone-freddy-beira-port-2023/

BibTeX

@misc{wfm_cyclone_freddy_beira_port_2023,
  author = {{World Freight Monitor}},
  title = {Cyclone Freddy halts cargo handling at the port of Beira in Mozambique},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Last updated 2026-10-29},
  url = {https://worldfreightmonitor.com/events/2023/cyclone-freddy-beira-port-2023/}
}