There is currently a serious traffic jam in the South China Sea, recalled by Zero Hedge. It is not the only global one. This is also observed in the western ports of the United States.
In any case, what is happening on the shores of the Celestial Empire is so serious for global shipping that Maersk, the world’s largest cargo ship company, has described the shipbuilding in Shenzhen as much more severe than blocking The Suez Canal earlier this year.
“We expect this to continue next month and cause significant delays in shipping,” said Ditlev Blicher, managing director of Maersk Asia Pacific. According to him, the port of Yantia operates with about 40% of its capacity at the moment.
Significant shipping problems near China have arisen as a result of coronavirus cases among seafarers. Therefore, the local administration imposed strict restrictions and quarantines, which, however, inevitably affects the ability to handle ships in ports.
This has led to huge congestion of container ships in the region, which has dealt a new blow to the supply chain and another shipping crisis as delays increase, threatening to increase costs again.
“I would say this is a much bigger break for us than the one caused by the blockade of the Suez Canal due to the length and importance of the Yantian as a port,” said Vincent Clark, AP Moller-Maersk’s chief executive of oceans & logistics. “We currently have delays on vessels of up to 16 days outside Yantian, which will, of course, have a significant negative effect on the network in terms of reliability.”
This information speaks to the sheer scale of the congestion on logistics globally. Ships usually wait half a day in the South China Sea before being processed. Judging by the statement of the head of Maersk, this period has already increased to two and a half weeks.
Guangdong Port is responsible for about a quarter of China’s total exports. Here are the ports of Shenzhen and Guangzhou, which are among the largest in the world, reminded by Zero Hedge.
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