Data through 2026-09-13 (13 September 2026)
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Earthquake suspends container terminals at Colombia's Buenaventura port

Earthquake suspends container terminals at Colombia's Buenaventura port. The disruption ran from 2026-08-10 (10 August 2026), and is ongoing, affecting Buenaventura. No measured effect is published for this event; the effect section explains why.

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Key facts

Started
2026-08-10 (10 August 2026)
Ended
Not ended
Status
ongoing
Severity
2 Moderate
Scope
port
Chokepoints
None
Lanes
None
Countries
Colombia
Confidence
medium: Four consistent press and carrier sources, but no Colombian official or port authority statement was retrieved, the last source is dated 2026-08-14, and the recovery status since then is unknown.
First reported
2026-08-11 (11 August 2026)
  • Severity basis: Terminal operations were suspended from 2026-08-10 and restarted only in phases from 2026-08-12, with the main inland corridor still impaired on 2026-08-14; this is an editor judgment because no port series covers Buenaventura.

What happened

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia at about 07:34 local time on 2026-08-10 (10 August 2026), with its epicentre near San Jose del Palmar in Choco. Container operations at Buenaventura, Colombia's main Pacific gateway, were suspended while terminals inspected damage, and road closures cut the port off from the interior. Maersk skipped one call and left a vessel part worked. Some operators restarted in stages from 2026-08-12, but by 2026-08-14 yard space was very tight, staff were short and the Cali to Buenaventura corridor was not fully restored. Colombia's Atlantic coast ports were reported unaffected. No recovery date had been reported by the last source retrieved.

Measured effect

No measured effect is published for this event. The affected places are not covered by a daily public series we can use.

Buenaventura has no exported PortWatch series in our data.

Timeline

  1. The earthquake strikes, APM Terminals Buenaventura activates its emergency protocols and evacuates precautionarily, and container terminal operations are suspended. [s1] [s3]
  2. Maersk reports terminal operations suspended pending assessments, a vessel unable to finish cargo work and a skipped call, while road closures disrupt cargo to and from the interior. [s1] [s3] [s4]
  3. Terminal operators begin phased restarts, with the SPRBUN terminal handling container ships and ro-ro vessels after engineering inspections and APM Terminals reactivating selected activities. [s3] [s2]
  4. CMA CGM reports operations partly resumed under constraints, with high yard occupancy, staff shortages and the Cali to Buenaventura corridor not fully restored. [s2]

Cause

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake damaged infrastructure and closed roads to the port, as reported by carriers and trade press. Attributed by: Maersk, APM Terminals and CMA CGM, as reported. [s1] [s3] [s4]

Corrections

No corrections to this record as of 2026-09-20 (20 September 2026).

Sources

  1. [s1] WorldCargo News, Earthquake disrupts Buenaventura port operations, published 2026-08-12 (12 August 2026), accessed 2026-09-20. Archived copy. (press)
  2. [s2] Container News, Colombia earthquake disrupts operations at Buenaventura, published 2026-08-14 (14 August 2026), accessed 2026-09-20. Archived copy. (press)
  3. [s3] PortNews, Buenaventura port remains open after 7.4-magnitude Colombia earthquake, published 2026-08-12 (12 August 2026), accessed 2026-09-20. Archived copy. (press)
  4. [s4] Maersk, Operational Update following Earthquake in Colombia, published 2026-08-11 (11 August 2026), accessed 2026-09-20. Archived copy. (press)