Jordan Freight Forwarding Services
Air & Sea Freight Between Jordan and the UK

Tropical storms bring congestion and cargo backlogs at Asian ports

Typhoon Dolphin, which made landfall around Ningbo yesterday, has added to congestion around East Asian ports, with 2.4m teu of containerships now waiting around ports in China. After typhoons Bavi and Noul, Typhoon Dolphin is the third and strongest tropical storm to hit China in the last five weeks, forcing ships to take refuge. Vessel delays are expected to be protracted, with Ningbo and Shanghai the worst affected ports, their terminal operations brought to a standstill last Friday and Saturday. Linerlytica said the congestion had spread to ports in Southern China, which bore the brunt of Typhoon Noul, and it would take a few weeks to clear the vessel backlog. Forwarder CH Robinson advised customers that ports across East China were also implementing contingency measures. Shanghai terminals and additional regional port facilities announced restrictions and temporary operational suspensions as the weather deteriorates. CH Robinson said shippers could expect late ships and berthing, a pause in depot operations, and changes to cargo cut-offs and container return windows. There could also be trucking delays and container shortages. UK forwarder Beckchoice said Shanghai and Ningbo had experienced continued disruption, but port operations were gradually beginning to recover. At Yangshan Port in Shanghai, recovery is also under way, although with a significant backlog. Beckchoice warned: "Our local agent has advised that vessel waiting times at some Yangshan berths are currently reaching up to 12 days, while availability for container gate-in appointments remains limited. The congestion is also increasing the risk of vessel omissions, rolled cargo, and containers being bumped from scheduled sailings. "In some cases, shipping lines may choose to omit Shanghai from their schedules depending on operational conditions and individual carrier arrangements." The bottlenecks are, however, a boon for shipping lines active in the transpacific. Shanghai-US West Coast rates still holding above $7,000 per 40ft, while Shanghai-US East Coast has passed the $10,000 per 40ft mark. Typhoon Dolphin has claimed one casualty: MSC's 2006-built 8,401 teu vessel, MSC Silvana VIII ran aground and is half-submerged and at risk of sinking, after unsuccessful refloating attempts. In Taiwan, seven containers in Yang Ming's container yard in Keelung were damaged after toppling in the strong winds on Sunday morning. Some of the containers hit nearby cranes. The damage is being assessed to calculate claims against the relevant insurers.

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