SIMIC

Japanese-owned, but Singapore-based Ocean Network Express (ONE) said it would skip 13 Yantian calls on transpacific, Europe and intra-Asia services up to June 13, including two vessels that would divert to Nansha.

French shipping giant CMA CGM said in an advisory it would omit Yantian on 13 sailings through June 17, five of which would be diverted to Shekou and three will call at Nansha instead.

Although Geneva-based MSC said in a client note that it "will also be omitting a number of calls at the Yantian port to minimise impact on our vessel schedules."

Maersk is warning that the partial closing of one of the largest global container ports due to a Covid outbreak was "getting worse," with delays now expected to stretch to two weeks, as the container line and others skip calls or dock at other ports.

The longer it takes the Yantian International Container Terminal (YICT) to open its western berth and ramp up port performance, which has been crippled by labour shortage.

This stands to have a bigger negative impact on transpacific on-time vessel performance, which was at 22.2 per cent to the US west coast in April, according to Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis.

Speaking to a Maersk webinar, Nikhil Palsule, Maersk Asia-Pacific head of cargo, said it was not yet clear when the west terminal at Yantian would reopen, adding that the congestion there is "getting worse before it gets better." The east terminal is operating at around 30 per cent of normal productivity as dock workers remain quarantined or work in smaller teams.

The closure of the three-berth west terminal is causing significant disruption with "increased congestion and vessel delays up to 14 days are expected in Yantian port," Maersk said in a customer advisory.

That came as Chinese health officials reported an increase in the number of Covid infections, with around 50 reported for the week to Wednesday, mainly in the Yantian district.

Shekou Container Terminal said laden export containers at the three ports in the area - Shekou and Chiwan - would only be accepted up to three days before vessel departure from June 6 to June 13, compared with five days previously. Yantian has imposed a similar three-day cutoff for laden export containers during the same period.