The partial closure of the world’s third-busiest container port is causing worsening shipping congestion around the world.
The Chinese port of Ningbo has partially closed and is forcing container ships to divert away from it as it implements control measures to combat a new outbreak of COVID-19.
In Shanghai and Hong Kong, container ship congestion is once again increasing weeks after dropping due to the reopening of Yantian port in Shenzhen, which shut in May for a separate outbreak of the coronavirus.
The number of container ships anchored off Xiamen on China’s southeast coast rose to 24 from six at the start of the month, according to the latest shipping data. Ningbo port was shut last week after a dock worker became infected with the Delta variant of COVID-19.
The world’s biggest shipping lines, including AP Moller-Maersk A/S and CMA CGM SA, are skipping Ningbo port after the closure. The companies prefer to divert shipments to other ports rather than wait outside Ningbo for an unknown length of time while the COVID-19 outbreak continues.
Some ships are willing to wait, with 141 ships at a shared anchorage for the Shanghai and Ningbo ports, 60 more than the median number reported between April and August.
The shipping industry has been plagued by disruptions throughout this year that have created delays in global shipping chains and driven freight rates to record highs. Snarls have ranged from a mega-ship stuck in the Suez Canal to virus outbreaks in Southeast Asia and China.
The backlog has stretched across the Pacific Ocean to Los Angeles, California, where more than 30 ships are now waiting to get into port and offload.
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