[Updated: Thursday, July 01]

The western zones of the terminal have now been fully reopened, allowing inbound collections and export drop-offs. The East zone (where the majority of vessels berth) is still semi-operational. High yard density will continue for a considerable time due to the significant backlog of container movements to process. However, with labor availability reaching 85% the port remains productive, while vessel delays are now close to normal, with an average of one day as of July 1, 2021.
 

[Updated: Monday, June 07]

Given the unease situation of Yantian and Nansha ports due to the detection of positive cases of COVID-19 at the international terminal, we wish to provide you with details about any delays or pauses your cargo or shipments may encounter.

> NANSHA PORT

Due to the detection of positive cases of COVID-19 in Nansha district, near Guangzhou this June 05. Local authorities and the port of Nansha have taken measures to reduce the spread of the COVID-19. For now, the Port of Nansha continues to operate as usual. See following the details of the new measures

Drivers

• Trailer companies are required to do the self-screening. Drivers who come from medium and high-risk areas are subject to mandatory quarantine for 14 days. 

• Drivers need to have a COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Test within 72 hours. Otherwise, people need to do the test on-site.

Business handling

• All the operations at the terminal are handled online through the company’s website and WeChat.

• All containers entering and leaving the terminal are automated, using automatic box number identification, automatic face recognition, automatic temperature measurement, and automatic system records

> YANTIAN PORT

Vessels & Terminals

• Earlier this week, few more COVID-19 positive cases were reported in Yantian International Container Terminal. Consequently, all operations in the western area of YICT remain suspended until further notice. Until June 4, all operations in the western area of YICT remain suspended and the efficiency in the east area is only 30% of the normal level.

• There will be 7-8 days of vessel delays in the coming week because terminal yard density keeps quite high with limited improvement and disinfection and quarantine measures are continuously implemented by local authorities to prevent COVID-19 from spreading.
• On May 27, YICT updated its control measures of export laden container:
  • From 00:00 AM May 31st, export laden container gate-in has resumed. From May 31st to Jun 6th, CY-open will be available only to vessels within ETA-3.
  • Import laden container pick-up which is mainly concentrated in the eastern area of the port maintains normal operations

Empty Containers

• Export empty pick-up and import empty return at Yantian keeps normal except for Greeting Fortune Depot. We notice 40GP and 40HC empty supply is negatively impacted by vessel delays in Yantian port.

Landside Service

• Trucking service into YICT has been impacted by the heavy traffic congestion of the terminal area and empty pick-up is expected to be delayed by 8 hours at least
• A large number of cargos moved to the surrounding ports especially Nansha port, which increased the congestion in the surrounding ports.
• It would take another week or two for the port congestion problem to be resolved and it is expected that there will be an increase in freight rate.

Moreover, regarding Yantian port, two areas located in Longgang district in Shenzhen: Anliang and Xikeng were also quarantined due to the presence of some cases of COVID-19. Many drivers who work for Yantian Port are living in these two areas, in consequence, the number of drivers who can work at Yantian Port has been reduced a lot.

In addition, according to the government's requirements, drivers and vehicles that recently went to Nansha Port are temporarily banned from entering Yantian Port. The ports will face a shortage of drivers. 
 

Many shipping lines have adjusted:

> Hapag-Lloyd

• Hapag-Lloyd will temporarily change the port of FE2/3 From calling Yantian to Nansha Container Terminal for the following sailings.
  • Far East Loop 2 (FE2): voy 015W AL ZUBARA, voy 013W MOL TREASURE
  • Far East Loop 3 (FE3): voy 001W HMM RAON

> Maersk

• Several vessels will be omitting the Port of Yantian and Shekou in order to protect schedule reliability. Please refer to the contingency plan as outlined below:

> MSC

• In order to avoid further delays, MSC will make the following adjustments to the following routes/voyages

                           Route name: LION
                           Vessel Name Voyage：MSC AMSTERDAM FL115E
                           Change of content: Cancellation YANTIAN calls

                           Voyage name: ALBATROSS
                           Name of Vessel：MILAN MAERSK 120W
                           Change content：Cancellation YANTIAN calls

> ONE

> CMA CGM

• Please be advised that the following vessel voyages will be omitting their Yantian calls to ensure schedule integrity:

IN CONCLUSION, from this situation, our teams expect:

• Stopover skips
• There are more blank sailings to come
• FAK prices for June are high

Our team is working on solutions out of Shekou, Hong Kong, as well rail solutions in order to continue to advise you as best as possible. 

All Bansard Guangzhou & Shenzhen are still working from their office. Do not hesitate to contact your usual Bansard contact or at sales@bansard.com, our teams remain at your disposal.