Chinese ports reopen after Typhoon Chanthu

Already struggling to deal with delays and heavy congestion, container terminals in Shanghai and Ningbo, closed as Typhoon Chanthu made landfall in Zhejiang province on Monday, also forcing the closure of Shanghai’s two airports.

Ningbo’s container terminals, which were closer to the landfall point, phased out operations on Sunday, while Yangshan deepwater port and port areas, Waigaoqiao and Wusong, halted the transport of inbound and outbound containers on Monday.

China’s National Meteorological Centre has now moved the weather system down a rung of the alert level to yellow, the third-most serious and terminals at Shanghai and Ningbo have started to resume operations.

The closures, however brief, will add further disruption to an already stretched global supply chain, with unprecedented port congestion and delays created by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Meishan container hub, has only been open 18 days, after been shut down for more than two weeks following a dock worker testing positive for coronavirus and there were already 86 containerships at anchor off Shanghai and Ningbo before the closure.

Hovering over the sea off Shanghai, the typhoon is expected to head northeast and approach the coasts of northern Japan via the Korea Strait.

Shanghai International Port Group said in a customer advisory that it plans to restore the pickups and deliveries of laden containers at its terminals as early as Tuesday.

The recovery of services for empty containers is pending further notice.

Notifications about similar plans have also been issued by major container terminals in Ningbo, including the Meishan Container Terminal and Daxie China Merchants International Terminal.

The closures, even though they are being lifted as the storm weakens, is yet another stumbling block for global trade, which is facing record demand, soaring shipping costs, and repeated pandemic-related lockdowns and problems. 

We are monitoring the situation closely and would ask you to share your forecasts with us as soon as you can, book shipments ahead of time and contact us immediately, if you have urgent or critical consignments.