Yay! Now That The Smog Has Cleared In China, Ships With Coal & Iron Ore Can Dock Again!
Lather, Rinse, Repeat.
A huge traffic jam of hundreds of ships carrying coal and iron ore into China has built up outside key ports like Tianjin and Caofeidian, just as winter demand hits its peak ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday later this month.
Major northern Chinese ports have suspended loading of ships several times since December 20 due to poor visibility largely caused by smog that has enveloped large parts of northern China at various times in recent weeks. This has left hundreds of ships sitting in China's Bohai Bay waiting to offload into key Chinese industrial hubs like Tianjin, which is close to Beijing.
An officer onboard the 119,503 deadweight tonne (DWT) Nord Vela, which anchored off Caofeidian on January 5, said when contacted by phone that the delays were the worst he had seen. "Most of the time we can berth in one or two days. But we've been waiting four days already," he said, opting not to give his name.
EDIT
The delayed deliveries are depleting available stocks of certain materials. Total coal stocks at the ports of Tianjin, Caofeidian, Jingtang, and Qinhuangdao were 16.3 million tonnes at the beginning of this week, down more than 6 percent since last week, according to port operators and shipping sources. Iron ore has been less affected due to plentiful stocks, traders said.
EDIT
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-shipping-china-congestion-idUSKBN14W36R