The situation at the Yantian International Container Terminal, in Southern China, has only deteriorated since then. Exact numbers are hard to come by, but Lars Jensen of Vespucci Maritime, a well-known Danish shipping consultancy, has told shipping media outlets like
Splash24/7 that more containers have likely been delayed during Yantian’s near-shutdown than when the Ever Given blocked the Suez Canal. Speaking to
Stuff, Jensen said: “When something like Suez or Yantian happens, that slows everything down even more - and pulls more capacity out of a system where there is already insufficient capacity.”
Mahmoud Khaled/Getty Images
The Ever Given saga captured public attention, but disruptions at Yantian could prove a lot worse for New Zealand.