A blank sailing is a scheduled voyage that is cancelled, or on which some ports in the rotation are skipped. Your booked container moves to a later vessel — often a week later.
Why carriers blank sailings
- Weak demand — removing capacity to support rates.
- Holidays such as Lunar New Year or China's Golden Week.
- Port congestion or weather disruption.
- Network changes and vessel repositioning.
FreightWaves and Supply Chain Dive have repeatedly linked waves of transpacific blank sailings to carriers managing capacity when volumes fall — and in October 2026 to Golden Week and weather-related port congestion.
Impact on Vietnamese shippers
- Delays of a week or more to the US.
- Possible extra storage at origin.
- Missed delivery windows for retail and Amazon.
How to protect your schedule
- Build buffer time around Tết and peak season — peak calendar.
- Ask your forwarder for the blank sailing outlook before booking.
- Keep alternative services or ports in mind — HCMC vs Hai Phong.