The power of Omicron virus remains unabated, bringing a new round of challenges to the global economy. Due to the rebound of the epidemic, the operation of domestic ports in China has been greatly affected.

On March 16, the queue of container ships outside China's main ports was gradually getting longer because of the covid-19 outbreak in some cities.

Due to the reduction of labor force and limited truck supply, many major Chinese ports, including Shanghai, Ningbo and Qingdao, also began to queue this week, which is likely to trigger a new wave of global supply chain impact.

According to shipping data, about 72 ships were found queuing near Qingdao port in Shandong Province on March 16, almost twice that at the end of February this year. The situation of port congestion is grim.

Although a large number of ships usually enter Chinese ports after the new year, the number of ship queues this year has been exacerbated by the outbreak of the Omicron virus, which has added more delays to the stressed global supply chain.

Salmon Aidan Lee, director of wood Mackenzie, an energy consulting firm, said: "the outbreak in many regions of China has worsened the situation of Qingdao port in the past few days. Freight rates are expected to rise due to increased delays."

In Shenzhen, the port is still in operation, and most of the city's population has been told to stay at home for a week. Shenzhen has the world's fourth largest container port. A covid-19 incident last year led to a decline of about three-quarters in throughput in three weeks.

A source said that at present, the Dachanwan Wharf in western Shenzhen operates normally, and special arrangements have been made for front-line staff.

Yantian port in the east of Shenzhen is the location of the largest Wharf in Shenzhen. A spokesman for the Port said that the operation is also normal.

"Since Shenzhen strengthened the epidemic prevention policy, Yantian has maintained normal and smooth operation. At present, all businesses of Yantian and its surrounding trailer business are running normally." The spokesman said.

He shunchen, head of the Hong Kong shippers' committee, said that although Shenzhen terminal operators reported normal operation, the main cargo consolidation centers and warehouses in Shenzhen had been suspended, although small warehouses and collection points outside Shenzhen were still in normal operation.

In response to the epidemic, shipping companies have released news of business adjustment. Maersk said that although the terminals of its main ports were open as usual, the air freight and warehousing services in Shenzhen had been temporarily cancelled.

In addition, Maersk said in the announcement: due to the increased control, especially such as Hong Kong and Shenzhen, as well as Qingdao and Tianjin, the overall operation efficiency of truck transportation will be significantly reduced.