Ningbo Port suspends operations at Meidong Container Port amid Covid-19 concerns

Operations at Ningbo Meidong Container Terminal (also referred to as Meishan Terminal) were suspended on August 11, 2021 due to a 34-year-old worker tested positive for Covid-19. The worker resides in a dormitory and tested negative on August 8, before being retested on August 10. Ningbo Port has started to turn away all Hapag-Lloyd, COSCO, OOCL, and Evergreen vessels that call on Meidong Container Terminal, creating an unprecedented number of vessels waiting outside of the port.

Ningbo’s annual box throughput is approaching 30 million TEU, making it the third largest container port in the world. When a Covid-19 outbreak was detected at Yantian Port in late May, operations at the key southern Chinese export hub were slashed by 70% for most of June. Newly reported positive Covid-19 cases in China have recently forced the country to re-introduce restrictions to curb the spread of the virus. Since July 20, community-spread infections have been confirmed in roughly half of China’s provinces, sparking mass testing operations and localised lockdowns.

Many ports in the country are also requiring vessels to quarantine for 14 to 28 days if they previously berthed in India or performed a crew change within 14 days of arriving in China.