China's Yantian Port ship congestion worse than Suez Canal mess; 'becoming global problem'

A COVID-19 outbreak in southern China has clogged ports critical to global trade, one of them being the Port of Yantian, the world’s fourth-largest container port. The backlog of containers stacking up at the Port of Yantian can be seen from space which indicates the level of destruction, and the trouble of congestion is said to be worse than the Suez Canal mess. 

Sources suggested that the chaos began unfolding last month when authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong — home to some of the world's busiest container ports — canceled flights, locked down communities, and suspended trade along its coastline to bring control in the COVID condition. The port was also partially closed from May 25-27 after five crew members aboard a container ship docked at the port tested COVID positive. Though the rate of infections has improved and many operations have restarted, massive backlogs, delayed operations, and a long queue of ships waiting to dock is spelling troubles. The container congestion will take a while to unwind.

Chain of disruption

• According to logistics companies with operating knowledge of the port, nearly 160,000 40-foot containers, the equivalent of 300,000 TEUs, or 20-foot equivalent units, are waiting to be exported. 
• The congestion in Yantian has spilled over to other container ports in Guangdong, including Shekou, Chiwan, and Nansha. 
• This has further resulted in chaos in the world's shipping industry.
• Shipping companies warn clients of delays, change in vessel routes and destinations, and spikes in fees.
• Major ports along the coast of California, USA HAVE already clogged with container ships, worsening the bottleneck at the country's biggest trade gateway with Asia.

While recording the amount of loss, it has to be noted that over 90% of the world’s electronics are exported out of the Port of Yantian. Experts have also highlighted that this blockage will sharply affect the December holidays. Overall, 70% of operations have been resumed and it is expected to fully start operating from June end. The additional worry lies in the fact that demands are expected to rise as COVID restrictions have been lifted from several countries and the port is still struggling to operate 50% more than the average from mid-April to early May, according to Bloomberg analysis of vessel data.