Ningbo Meishan terminal re-opens after two-weeks shutdown

Container vessels have resumed docking at Meishan port in Ningbo, China after being suspended for two weeks to combat the epidemic, adding to optimism that all operations at Ningbo port will be restored.

Ningbo-Meishan-container-terminal

Ningbo Meishan container terminal

Container ships have resumed docking at a halted container terminal in Ningbo, China, adding to optimism that full operations at one of the world's busiest ports will was restored immediately after shutting down for two weeks to fight epidemics at the port.

At least five container ships have left the port of Ningbo Meishan in the past few days after docking there, according to shipping data compiled by Bloomberg. Some ships have been allowed to dock, an official from the port of Ningbo-Zhoushan said.

The movement of the ships is stoking optimism among shippers that operations will resume soon after no new cases of Covid-19 have been detected, according to local media reports.

The port of Ningbo Meishan has partially resumed operations since August 18 and is expected to gradually resume operations in the coming weeks, shipping line CMA CGM said in consulting customers.

Two of its vessels, Rivoli and Samson, are completing cargo operations and will leave the dock "very soon", the French shipping company said on Aug. 20. The vessels have left Ningbo, while a separate vessel called the Taurus arrived at Meishan on Sunday and is currently docked there, Bloomberg data shows.

CMA CGM's Elbe docked on Monday after waiting at anchor for a week.

The Meishan Terminal, which accounts for about a quarter of Ningbo port's container throughput, was closed on August 11 after a worker was infected with the delta variant of Covid-19. The partial closure of the world's third busiest container port has exacerbated congestion at other major gateways such as Shanghai, Xiamen and Hong Hong, as ships divert travel amid uncertainty about how long virus control measures in the city will last.

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