Ningbo-Zhoushan Explosion Has Minor Impact on Port Congestion

On August 9th, the Yang Ming vessel YM Mobility was the site of a significant explosion while berthed at the Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan. The explosion originated in a container holding hazardous goods, and led to the closure of Ningbo's Beilun Phase III Terminal for two and a half days. 

The explosion and subsequent terminal closure at the world’s third-busiest container port stoked fears about potential supply chain disruptions and worsening port congestion. However, the latest port congestion statistics suggest the overall impact appears to be more contained than initially feared.

Impact on Ningbo Port Congestion

The explosion is likely to have contributed to an increase in vessel anchor (waiting) times at Ningbo — up to an average of 10 hours in August from six hours in the preceding three month period. Notably, average anchor times were still below the 12 hours seen in August 2023. 

While Kuehne+Nagel reported delays of up to four days for the unloading of cargo onboard the YM Mobility, average vessel berth (unloading and loading) times at Ningbo appear to have been largely unaffected by the incident. August average berth times were 20 hours, a negligible increase on the 19 hours in July and nearly on par with the H1 2024 average of 21 hours. 

As it relates to ground operations, the impact of the incident again appears to have been contained with average container dwell times increasing only 5% to 4.4 days in August from 4.2 days in July. 

The impact of the YM Mobility being taken out of service for repairs, however, remains to be seen. It is expected that this will have at least a modest impact on the flow of goods on the Middle East to Far East trade lane that was being operated by the vessel. 

A Lesson in Supply Chain Risk & Resilience

This incident highlights the resilience of Ningbo-Zhoushan’s port operations, which managed to avoid significant increases in congestion levels despite the setback. The port's ability to quickly resume operations is a testament to the efficiency and robustness of its infrastructure, even in the face of challenges.

While all evidence suggests the impact of the Ningbo explosion has been well contained, the incident is yet another reminder of the risks facing global supply chains. Had a similar explosion damaged critical port infrastructure or occurred on a larger capacity ship, the downtime and associated knock on effects could have been a lot worse. 

The event also highlights the risks of over-reliance on mega-ports that serve as critical nodes in global supply chains and is likely to (once again) prompt questions around how businesses can best protect the flow of inventory to their customers.

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