China¡¯s increasingly extreme ¡°COVID zero¡± policies are standing in the way of a full recovery for the shipping industry and prolonging a crisis that¡¯s snarled ports and emptied shelves worldwide.
In its attempts to keep the virus out, China has continued to prohibit crew changes for foreign crew and recently imposed as much as a seven-week mandatory quarantine for returning Chinese seafarers. Even vessels that have refreshed their crew elsewhere have to wait two weeks before they¡¯re allowed to port in China.
To comply, shipowners and managers have had to reroute ships, delaying shipments and crew changes, adding to the supply chain crisis. ¡°China¡¯s restrictions cause knock-on effects,¡± said Guy Platten, the secretary general of the International Chamber of Shipping, which represents shipowners and operators. ¡°Any restrictions to ship operations have an accumulative impact on the supply chain and cause real disruptions.¡±
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