Shanghai:
In the last one month, Covid-19 cases have been increasing in China. The lockdown in Shanghai, China has entered its fourth week. According to reports, more than three lakh coronavirus infections have been registered in Shanghai since March 2022. A large number of cargo ships are queuing outside Shanghai due to the super lockdown.
More than 470 ships are reportedly waiting to deliver resources to China. These ships carry materials ranging from grain to metal ores. Ships began to line up outside the port of Shanghai after authorities began a city-wide lockdown last month to control the spread of COVID-19. Global supply chains have also been affected by this maritime congestion outside Shanghai, which is one of the busiest ports in the world.
Images from the Marine Traffic website show large queues of ships around the port of Shanghai. The website tracks the live position of ships in international waters. Cargo ships in transit are represented by green dots in the image, while tankers are represented by red dots.
In more than two weeks, congestion has expanded to Ningbo-Zhoushan. This is because ship owners divert their ships to other ports in the country. Specifically, the port is operating normally under a “closed loop”. However, trucks entering and leaving the city are facing difficulties. The city is cut off from the rest of the country due to the rise in COVID-19 cases.
There is a shortage of port personnel at Shanghai Port due to the increase in COVID-19 cases. This slowed down the delivery of documents, which is taking time for cargo ships. Only those export containers that were at the port of Shanghai could be loaded onto the ships. Meanwhile, goods booked on outbound ships are stuck in warehouses as shuttle trucks cannot operate due to the lockdown.
According to a Bloomberg report, a total of 197 container ships are either loading or waiting to be loaded at Shanghai’s joint anchorage with Ningbo. This is reportedly a 17 percent increase over the previous week.
People in the business sector have expressed concern over the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the country’s economic growth. Many residents have also complained about their shrinking food supply during the lockdown.
Recently, there were also reports of clashes between local people and health officials in Shanghai. Many Shanghai residents have also taken to social media to complain about the lack of medicines and food.
However, the Chinese government defended its lockdown measures in Shanghai.
On Monday, Shanghai reported more than 22,000 COVID-19 infections and three new deaths.
]]>
, International, ,