Container shipping services in the East China Sea are facing ongoing disruption amid port congestion and vessel delays from the impact of Typhoon Kong-rey, which hit Taiwan late last week before moving northward to affect eastern China and Japan.
Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s busiest container port, is experiencing berthing delays of up to two days after the port was closed as the storm, Taiwan’s fiercest typhoon in almost 30 years, traversed the southern part of the island on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.
Ships docking at Taiwan’s container ports, including Taipei and Keelung, are still facing waits of between two and three days, shipping executives said.
The major Chinese ports of Shanghai and Ningbo are currently experiencing delays of a similar length due to the lingering impact of the typhoon. Terminals in both cities suspended operations Friday afternoon ahead of the storm’s arrival, with cargo handling gradually resuming later in the weekend, port officials said.
Kuehne + Nagel said congestion at Shanghai is gradually easing, while bad weather, including dense fog, is also affecting operations at Qingdao, the forwarder said.
Carrier Ocean Network Express (ONE) said Kong-rey is delaying vessels deployed on various trades, including its Japan-Thailand-Vietnam and Taiwan-Philippines shuttle services. ONE’s vessel schedules show the storm added four days to the normal eight-day transit between Yokohama and Laem Chabang in Thailand for the 2,858-TEU ACX Crystal operating its JTV service. There was an additional one-day delay to Cai Map port near Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam due to port congestion.
The 1,096-TEU Contship Era, operating ONE’s TWP2 shuttle service, was delayed five days in Kaohsiung and only departed the port Tuesday for Cebu in the Philippines.
ONE said Tuesday that ships operating Asia-Europe services are still affected by delays caused by typhoons Bebinca and Pulasan, which hit Asia in September. The two storms are partly responsible for lengthening transit times by about 10 to 13 days.
Source:
Wallis, K. (2024, November 5). East China Sea container traffic facing delays, port congestion after Typhoon. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/east-china-sea-container-traffic-facing-delays-port-congestion-after-typhoon-5786653