Shipowners and sea carriers using China's main cargo ports Shanghai and Ningbo will face widespread disruption as Typhoon Bebinka, which directly hit Shanghai on Monday, caused dock closures and overcrowding of ships. HAPAG warns that due to the storm, berthing conditions at the two ports are expected to worsen further.
The typhoon is the strongest cyclone to hit Shanghai in 75 years, with winds reaching 95 miles per hour and causing widespread flooding and property damage to Shanghai and neighboring Jiangsu Province as it moved inland on Monday and Tuesday. HAPAG said in an announcement Monday that ships in Shanghai needed to wait 36 to 60 hours and 24 to 48 hours in Ningbo due to overcrowding before the storm.
SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL PORT GROUP, WHICH CONTROLS ALL OF THE WORLD'S BUSIEST CONTAINER PORTS, SAID ALL ITS FACILITIES HAD BEEN CLOSED BEFORE THE STORM HIT ON SUNDAY. The company said that the Haifa Shui Port Complex near Yangshan, about 70 miles from downtown, reopened around midnight Monday local time.
Freight operations including the Takahashi Container Terminal Complex, Shanghai East Pier and downtown facilities in the Wusong Port area will resume early Tuesday local time. Officials at Ningbo Zhoushan Port, the world's third-busiest container port, confirmed that the terminal complex was closed on Sunday and resumed operations on Monday evening.
About a week later, southern China, northern Vietnam and Myanmar were hit by Typhoon Yaki, causing the ports of Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Haiphong to be closed.Babinka attacked the Long River Delta region. Carriers and freight agents said the Babincard is valid for a three-day public holiday and the office is expected to reopen on Wednesday. Therefore, it is too early to assess the storm's full impact on cargo transportation and ship schedules.
An executive of a freight forwarding company in Shenzhen spoke on TuesdayBusiness MagazineIT SAID: “ALTHOUGH THE TYPHOON IS EXPECTED TO WEAKEN ON TUESDAY, LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORT DELAYS ARE EXPECTED TO PERSIST AFTER THIS.” AIR FREIGHT OPERATIONS AT SHANGHAI PUDONG AIRPORT AND HONGQIAO AIRPORT WERE ALSO SUSPENDED ON SUNDAY EVENING. BOTH AIRPORTS WERE OFFICIALLY CLOSED BEFORE THE STORM HIT, BUT LATER REOPENED. Officials say hundreds of flights have also been canceled at Ningbo and Hangzhou airports.
