Amid the ongoing lockdown measures in Shanghai — which began on March 28 — Maersk announced that it is halting reefer bookings to the major cargo and shipping hub starting April 14.

"Due to the impact of the lockdown, we are facing both reefer and dangerous cargo yard congestion in Shanghai terminals. We will stop all new reefer/dangerous cargo bookings of IMO 2.2 and IMO 3 effective 14th April 2022, into Shanghai until further notice," the Danish shipping line said.

It said some depots in Shanghai also remain closed since March 28 "until further notice."

Trucking to be further impacted

Maersk noted that the overall landside transportation situation is dynamic and subject to change although "trucking service, for now, is still available in China main ports and nearby cities providing the drivers hold negative Nucleic Acid Test (NAT) report requested by local governments."

"Specifically, we foresee the efficiency of Maersk trucking service from/to Shanghai will be further impacted due to the lockdown on Shanghai. Maersk can provide multi-modal services via barge or rail as alternative solutions for the corridor between Shanghai and nearby cities," it added.

The shipping line said warehouses in Shanghai will remain closed until further notice.

In Ningbo, warehouses keep operations for now, in the same way as Xiamen and Qingdao. The same is also true for Shenzhen. Maersk said in the city, warehouses keep operations, for now, however, drivers are requested to show both health code and negative NAT report within 24 hours for cargo delivery.

Omitting Shanghai in service

"We regret to inform you that several vessels will be omitting Shanghai. Please refer to the contingency plan outlined as below," Maersk added.

For air services, the shipping line said in Shanghai, operations for existing cargo in warehouses stay normal. "However, new cargo acceptance will be impacted due to the first-mile delivery and labor resource constraints."

"We have noticed that more airlines are canceling flights in the coming days, and more volumes are expected to be shifted to other airports in China," it added.

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, Maersk said due to the suspension of the trucking service between Hong Kong and the Mainland, barge service is taken as an alternative for cargo moving.

"Airfreight space reservation will not proceed until the cargo is delivered to Hong Kong airport warehouse. As a consequence, It will take a longer lead time than usual for the airfreight service," it added.

Commenting on the Shanghai situation, Lars Jensen, CEO of liner consultancy Vespucci Maritime, said the situation in China's financial hub is further deteriorating.

"The supply chain situation in Shanghai continues to worsen," Jensen said. "The port is running out of capacity for some types of cargo as importers cannot collect their goods."

He added that Maersk has now stopped all booking acceptance to Shanghai for reefer cargo and some types of gasses as well as flammable liquids.