Some shipping companies are suspending services in China ahead of the new year.
This year, Chinese New Year falls on February 1, 2022, which is a full 12 days earlier than in 2021. The Covid-zero policy of China has sailors anticipating longer than usual periods of isolation before they can return to land. Sailors were required to serve up to seven weeks in quasar before being cleared to return home, according to the outlet.
The southern manufacturing hub of China is where independent shipping providers service the region. Many businesses have already begun winding down for the year in anticipation of the Chinese New Year, which would have typically taken off around two week before.
Major global shippers, including Ocean Network Express and Hapag-Lloyd, have stopped new container bookings at smaller ports in South China.
The longer-than- usual suspension of feeder services could have a knock-on impact on the global supply chain, as cargo to and from smaller Chinese ports may surge earlier than usual.
Some of this might be diverted onto land transportation once the feeder capacity decline, which can give rise to shortage of capacity on the landside also for shippers only using the large ports in the region, said the CEO of Vespucci Maritime in a post on LinkedIn.
