The Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan has surpassed 20 million TEU in the calendar year even though one of its container terminals remains closed following an outbreak of COVID-19.
In a statement, the Port said it has handled 20 million TEU a month faster than it did so in 2020. It is the seventh year in a row it has reached the milestone and this year marks the first time is has done so by August; the 20 millionth container was processed at 08:55 on 15 August.
However, the third busiest port in the world has been partially suspended for a seventh day following the closure of the Meishan Island International Container Terminal (MSCIT) on 11 August.
According to data from Bloomberg the Port has 141 vessels at shared anchor for Shanghai and Ningbo, 60 more than the average number between April and August.
The congestion has reached the major gateways on the US West Coast, including the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, where reports say more than 30 vessels are waiting to offload.
Carriers have diverted services to other gateways in China, A.P. Moller-Maersk (Maersk) said in its latest update that vessels from the 2M Alliance are waiting for approximately two days to call, but landside and warehouse service have been entirely suspended at the MSCIT.
The suspension of the Port is the latest challenge for the maritime. A similar outbreak at the Port of Yantian earlier in 2021 caused logistics delays across the world, as did the obstruction of the Suez Canal.
Supply chains have been crippled by COVID-19 outbreaks at major ports and terminals around the world since the beginning of the pandemic.
