News / Typhoon Bebinca shuts down port operations in Shanghai and Ningbo

Departures from Shanghai’s container terminals are likely to be erratic following typhoon Bebinca causing serious vessel bunching that could also lead to serious disruption to vessel schedules at destination ports.

Bebinca is the strongest typhoon to hit Shanghai since 1949, and ships that moved away from the port in anticipation of the storm will return over the coming days, resulting in vessel bunching that is expected to cause delays lasting over a week.

EconDB showed vessel arrivals in Shanghai halved from Friday to Saturday, compared with Thursday, while barely a single ship arrived at the world’s busiest port on Sunday.

The situation in neighbouring Ningbo port was similar, with a near 90% drop in vessel arrivals at the Chinese port from Friday to Saturday and no calls on Sunday.

S&P Global’s data showed container loading and discharge operations in Shanghai’s Yangshan and Waigang areas paused from Sunday, while Ningbo suspended container operations on Saturday. China’s Xinhua News reported that truck drivers from outside Shanghai were given temporary accommodation during the weekend.

Today, Hapag-Lloyd is advising that ships are waiting for 36-60 hours to berth in Shanghai as the port works through the disruptions. Waiting time in Ningbo is estimated at 24-48 hours.

Compounding the situation is the fact that ports in southern China and Vietnam are still recovering from the effects of typhoon Yagi last week. Linerlytica estimates that ships in Yantian port are waiting up to four days to berth, while Hapag-Lloyd’s estimate is 24-72 hours.

However, Linerlytica’s commentary today suggests that the port congestion will not reverse the decline in long-haul freight rates as cargo demand has not picked up.

Linerlytica said: “This will not be enough to lift rates as carriers continue to fight for market share ahead of the alliance reshuffling.”