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Port operations in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin are normal even as the coastal metropolis has been placed on partial lockdown to prevent the further spread of a community outbreak of COVID-19
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No cases were said to be found among port workers at the Port of Tianjin, the largest port in Northern China and the main maritime gateway to Beijing
Port operations in the city of Tianjin in Northern China have so far been normal even as the coastal metropolis has placed its 14 million residents on partial lockdown to prevent the further spread of a community outbreak of COVID-19, with at least two cases related to the omicron variant.
No cases were said to be found among port workers at the Port of Tianjin, the largest port in Northern China and the main maritime gateway to Beijing, according to reports as of January 10. But not surprisingly, shipping and supply chain executives are waiting anxiously for any potential impact of the restrictions on port operations.
Tianjin’s partial lockdown, announced on January 9, is the latest of the potential supply chain disruptions that China has had to face as it wages a tough war against Covid. This comes after lockdowns were announced by Chinese authorities in the Beilun area of the port city of Ningbo, where several container terminals of Ningbo-Zhoushan port are located. Apprehensions have been growing over a repeat of the large-scale closure seen in Yantian Port in May and June last year which had major repercussions for the global supply chain.
China continues to maintain a zero-Covid policy and recently placed 11 million people in the city of Xian under a strict lockdown. Local authorities of Xian have announced a plan to allow the gradual resumption of parcel deliveries and some businesses, as cases have started to ease.
This strict containment strategy of China has taken on added urgency as Beijing prepares to host the Winter Olympics in early February and as the Lunar New Year holiday travel season comes on later this month.
Photo by Arrorro
