Shanghai and Ningbo Ports Reopen After Typhoon Soudel Amid Warnings of Shipping Disruptions

Shanghai International Port Group and Ningbo-Zhoushan Port authorities gradually resumed operations early Friday, August 28, following a two-day shutdown caused by Typhoon Soudel, which struck the coasts of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces between August 25 and 26.

Data from Shanghai International Port Group revealed that the Waigaoqiao terminal is operating at 76% capacity, while Yangshan Terminals 1 and 2 are operating at 85%, with empty container operations resuming at 12:00 PM and full container operations at 2:30 PM. Ningbo-Zhoushan Port announced the resumption of container operations at all its major terminals at 3:00 PM.

However, the reopening has not led to an immediate normalization of conditions; estimates indicate that vessel waiting times at the Waigaoqiao terminal have exceeded nine days, while reaching seven days at Yangshan, and are expected to range between five and six days at Ningbo. This bottleneck casts a shadow over a logistics network that has not yet recovered from the effects of Typhoon Dolphin in early August, when more than 2.4 million TEUs were stranded in North Asian congestion.

Freight operators warned that ocean carriers may resort to blank sailings or skipping the Port of Shanghai depending on operational conditions, alongside risks of rolled cargo and attempts to raise Freight All Kinds (FAK) rates in the coming few weeks. The transpacific rate index had previously recorded a rise reaching $9,400 per FEU on the Asia-US East Coast route following Typhoon Dolphin.

This development has a significant impact on freight buyers on transpacific and Asia-Europe routes, who should expect operational delays and potential rate hikes over the next two weeks as ports work to absorb backlogged volumes and resume full operations.