Shipping Alert! These Countries Announced Lockdown Again! Global Logistics May Delay!

As the Delta variant of the COVID-19 is spreading globally,

which has become the main variant of the pandemic in many countries,

and some countries that have successfully controlled the pandemic have become unprepared as well.

Bangladesh, Malaysia, Australia, South Africa and many other countries have tightened restrictions again and entered "re-blockade."

★ Malaysia Blockade Will Be Extended Indefinitely ★

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin recently announced that,

the nationwide lockdown originally scheduled to expire on June 28,

will be extended until the number of confirmed diagnoses per day drops to 4,000.

This means that Malaysia's lockdown will be extended indefinitely.

The economic hardship and the closure of the city have been extended indefinitely,

affecting the livelihoods of many people and increasing the unemployment rate.

During the first phase of the lockdown in Malaysia, which starts from June 16th,

non-essential cargo and containers will be loaded and unloaded in stages to reduce port congestion on every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

The cargo storage volume of Penang Port has been kept below 50% and the situation is under control,

including containers imported by manufacturers from all over North Malaysia and exported to Singapore,

Hong Kong, Taiwan, Qingdao, China and other places through Port Klang.

To avoid congestion, the Port Klang Authority previously released non-essential containers during the FMCO period from June 15 to June 28.

The above measures allow port importers and exporters to avoid double losses,

including reducing the cost of container ship leasing and the cost of storing goods and containers at the port.

The port side hopes to cooperate and work together with the government to tackle the challenge of the pandemic.

malay lockdown

★ The Nationwide Emergency Lockdown in Bangladesh ★

In order to contain the spread of the Delta variant of the COVID-19,

Bangladesh is scheduled to implement a nationwide "cities lockdown" measure for at least one week starting from July 1.

During the lockdown, the military dispatched soldiers, border guards,

and riot police to patrol the streets to assist the government in implementing epidemic prevention measures.

In terms of ports, due to long-term berthing delays in Chittagong Port and remote transshipment ports,

the available capacity of feeder ships has decreased.

In addition, some feeder ships cannot be used, and the exported containers responsible for packing at inland container yards are overstocked.

Ruhul Amin Sikder (Biplob), secretary of the Bangladesh Inland Container Warehouse Association (BICDA),

said that the number of exported containers in the warehouse was twice the normal level,

and this situation has continued for the past month or so.

He said: "Some containers have been stranded in the warehouse for up to 15 days."

Sk Abul Kalam Azad, general manager of Hapag-Lloyd’s local agent GBX Logistics,

said that during this busy period, the number of available feeder vessels has fallen below the demand level.

At present, the berthing time of ships at Chittagong Port will be delayed by up to 5 days, and 3 days at the transshipment port.

Azad said: "This waste of time has reduced their monthly average voyages,

resulting in limited space for feeder ships, which has led to congestion at the cargo terminal."

On July 1, about 10 container ships were outside Chittagong Port. Waiting at the anchorage, 9 of them are loading and unloading containers at the dock.

bangladesh lockdown

★ 4 Australian States Announced Emergency Lockdowns ★

In the past, different Australian cities have successfully contained the epidemic through active closures,border blockades, social tracking apps, etc..

However, after a new virus variant was discovered in the southeastern city of Sydney at the end of June, the epidemic spread quickly across the country.

In two weeks, the four state capitals of Australia, including Sydney, Darwin, Perth and Brisbane, announced the closure of the city.

More than 12 million people are affected, which is close to half of Australia's total population.

Australian health experts said that since Australia is currently in the winter,

the country may face restrictions that can last for several months.

According to reports, in response to the emerging domestic epidemic,

Australian states have begun to implement cross-regional border control measures.

At the same time, the mechanism of mutual travel between Australia and New Zealand without isolation has also been interrupted.

Port operations and terminal operation efficiency in Sydney and Melbourne will be affected.

australia lockdown

★ South Africa Raised the City Closure Level Once Again to Deal with the Epidemic★

Due to the invasion of the delta variant, the number of infections and deaths at the peak of the third wave of pandemic in South Africa

recently increased significantly compared with the peaks of the previous two waves.

It is the most severely affected country on the African continent.

The South African government announced at the end of June that it would upgrade the "city closure" level to the fourth level,

second only to the highest level, in response to the epidemic.

This is the third time the country raised its "closed city" level in the past month.

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★Others★

Due to the continued deterioration of the epidemic situation in India,which is the second largest textile manufacturer and exporter in the world,

Cambodia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar and other major textile and garment exporting countries

have also suffered from strict blockade measures and logistics delays.

With the supply of raw materials and domestic political turmoil, the textile and apparel industry is in dilemma to varying degrees,

and some orders may flow into China, where supply guarantees are more reliable.

With the recovery of overseas demand, the global textile and apparel market may continue to improve,

and China's textile and apparel exports will also continue to improve.

We are optimistic that Chinese chemical fiber companies will continue to supply the world stably in 2021

and fully benefit from the recovery of global textile and apparel demand.

★Written at the end★

Here is a reminder that freight forwarders who have recently traded with these countries and regions need pay attention to logistics delays in real time,

and beware of issues such as port of destination customs clearance, buyer abandonment, non-payment, etc. to avoid losses.