A Covid outbreak that has partially shut one of the world’s
busiest container ports is heightening concerns that the rapid spread of the
delta variant will lead to a repeat of last year’s shipping nightmares.
The shutdown at Ningbo-Zhoushan is raising fears that ports
around the world will soon face the same kind of outbreaks and Covid
restrictions that slowed the flows of everything from perishable food to
electronics last year as the pandemic took hold. Infections are threatening to
spread at docks just as the world’s shipping system is already struggling to
handle unprecedented demand with economies reopening and manufacturing picking
up.Play Video
Ningbo-Zhoushan Port said in a statement late Thursday that
all other terminals aside from Meishan have been operating normally. The port
is actively negotiating with shipping companies, directing them to other
terminals, and releasing information on a real-time data platform, it said.
Tackling its largest Covid outbreak since the onset of the
pandemic in early 2020 China continues to operate a zero-Covid strategy of
travel restrictions, locking down cities, and testing entire populations, when
cases spring up.
In the case of Ningbo Zhoushan Reuters reported that a
single employee of the Meidong terminal had tested positive for Covid-19. The
employee who was fully vaccinated with the Sinovac vaccine was believed to be
asymptomatic. It is not yet known if the infection is the Delta variant strain
which Sinovac appears to have limited in efficacy against.
“Meidong firm immediately stopped all operations and shut
down the port area after the Covid-19 test of the staff showed positive,” said
Jiang Yipeng, deputy general manager of Ningbo Zhoushan Port. The terminal is
currently locked down with no movement of vehicles in or out and operations
shutdown. All close contacts have been placed under observation, no more cases
were reported till now.
The immediate impact of the closure is expected to be on the
members of the Ocean Alliance – Cosco, CMA CGM and Evergreen – primarily using
the terminal.
While container line Hapag-Lloyd told its customers: “With
this sudden suspension, we expect a delay in planned sailings that might affect
your cargo planning. Please know that we are working on alternatives, and hope
for your understanding on a matter that is beyond our control.”
The terminal handles around 25% of the volumes at the
world’s fourth largest container port Ningbo Zhoushan which has a throughput of
18.68m teu in the first seven months of 2021.
In terms of Ningbo – Zhoushan two key concerns will be how
long will the closure last and more cases being found at other terminals
resulting a wider scale shutdown of facilities at the key port. An outbreak
earlier this year at Yantian International Container Terminal (YICT) resulted
in a three-week shutdown and major disruption to container shipping with ripple
effects felt across trades globally.
But it also raises much wider fears for the supply chain if
the current outbreak continues to spread with China having already put
restrictions in place in a growing number of locations including Zhengzhou,
Nanjing, Beijing, Wuhan, Yantai and Shanghai.