500 Ships Stranded Outside Chinese Ports Due to Zero COVID policy

The Shanghai lockdown has been extended indefinitely, which casts further uncertainty over Chinese supply chains. Shanghai is one of the largest ports in the world, but due to China’s Zero COVID policy, about 500 vessels have queued up outside Chinese Ports, especially Shanghai and Ningbo, after Shanghai initiated a city-wide lockdown last month to combat a fresh outburst of Covid-19 in the city.

After two weeks of lockdown, the congestion has expanded to nearby Ningbo-Zhoushan. As a result, the vessels are being diverted to other Chinese ports to avoid delays due to the trucking shortage in Shanghai.

According to Bloomberg shipping data, 222 bulkers were waiting off Shanghai as of April 11, 15% higher than a month earlier. At Ningbo-Zhoushan, there were 134 carriers, 0.8% higher than last month. At the same time, further north, the combined ports of Rizhao, Dongjiakou, and Qingdao saw a 33% increase to 121 vessels.

Also, there were 197 container ships either loading or waiting to load in Shanghai’s combined anchorage with Ningbo, a 17% increase from a month ago.

Due to the strict lockdown, there is a shortage of port workers in Shanghai, slowing the documentation and cargo operations.