Shanghai's lockdown: hard times ahead?
A quick increase in port congestion at the beginning of the Shanghai lockdown could only be a foreshadowing of what lies ahead, said the maritime analyst of Vessels Value.
Vivek Srivastava, senior trade analyst at Vessels Value, commented: "With roads, bridges and tunnels between the Pudong and Puxi areas blocked for at least a week, Shanghai International Port Group, which manages the city’s ports, released a statement saying, other than in cases of extreme weather, 24 hour operations would be maintained."
Yet, data from Vessels Value shows an almost five-fold increase in the number of ships waiting to load or discharge at Shanghai in the last two and half weeks. While congestion at Shanghai usually worsens at this time of year, the recent surge is far higher than both last year and normal seasonal levels. At this stage, it is unclear what impact Shanghai’s lockdown will have on the port’s vessel queue in the near future. (sh)