Logistical headaches for global supply chains were created when China began its most provocative military drills in decades.
The maneuvers, announced by Beijing in the wake of Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, are taking place in six different areas around the island. China has told ships and aircraft to stay out of the way of exercises.
Some ships continued to travel through the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, with a few still in the drill zones. At the same time Wednesday there were 45 vessels in the exercise regions. There were no ships in the zone close to the mainland.
The east side of the island will cause delays of about three days, according to shipbrokers. The long-term impact may be less if tensions ease next week.
Bad weather could cause more delays for ships traveling through Chinese waters. A tropical storm warning was issued by Shenzhen city, which is located directly west of Taiwan's southern tip.
Almost half of the world's container fleet passed through the Taiwan Strait this year. Supply chains have been reeling since the start of the Pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukrainian.
There are no benefits to a Pelosi visit.
According to ship- tracking data, at least one tanker changed course to avoid drills. The maneuvers will result in small delivery delays to Taiwan and other nearby countries.
Some agricultural container cargo from Southeast Asia to China have been postponed to load next week to avoid the risks, while others are still waiting for shipping companies' notices, according to a Shanghai-based commodity trader.
Taiwan's transportation minister Wang Kwo-tsai said that Taiwan's Maritime Port Bureau warned ships to avoid the area where drills will take place.
There are no delays or postponements of cargo at the Mailiao port. The port operations at the refinery in Kaohsiung are unaffected, according to the company.
Lin Keh-Yen, a spokesman for the FPCC, said that port and ship agents should not go into the drill zones.
Sharon Cho, Elizabeth Low and Winnie Zhu aided in the project.
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