China closes container port: global supply chains in danger again?

Due to a corona case, China’s authorities have partially stopped operations in the country’s second largest container port. German shipowners fear massive effects on global supply chains.

According to industry services, around 40 container ships are already waiting in front of the entrance to the port of Ningbo-Zhoushan. The huge network of ports has almost 20 individual ports. The important Meishan port was closed.

According to the operator, a worker there was infected with Covid-19. According to Chinese media reports, almost 2,000 dock workers have been put under surveillance and are not allowed to leave the port area.

Initially, the port authority spoke of errors in the operating system – and thus justified the rejection of container ships. The health authorities later corrected this message and referred to the corona infection.

Hapag-Lloyd fears “massive problems”

In the Ningbo-Zhoushan port network, over 28 million standard containers were handled last year, a fifth of them in the now closed area. Among other things, containers for the lines China-Europe and the Middle East are handled there.

At Germany’s largest container shipping company, Hapag-Lloyd in Hamburg, it was said that if Meishan were to remain closed for a longer period of time, it could lead to “massive problems”. The Federal Association of Materials Management, Purchasing and Logistics (BME) also expressed concern. A longer closure could have negative effects on the already tense situation in the global flow of goods and supply chains.

China is fighting against corona outbreak

In recent months, the partial closure of the southern Chinese port of Yantian – also due to corona infections – led to delays in international delivery traffic. The technology and electronics industries in particular were affected.

China is currently fighting the worst corona outbreak in months. The authorities are reacting to the very low number of infections compared to Europe with mass tests, partial lockdowns, travel restrictions and closings, as is now the case in the port of Ningbo.