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Typhoon In-fa halts container handling at Shanghai and Ningbo ports

Typhoon In-fa halts container handling at Shanghai and Ningbo ports. The disruption ran from 2021-07-24 (24 July 2021) to 2021-07-27 (27 July 2021), 4 days, affecting Shanghai (Yangshan), Shanghai, Ningbo. The measured effect for this event has not been computed yet.

World Freight Monitor permanent record. https://worldfreightmonitor.com/events/2021/typhoon-in-fa-shanghai-ningbo-2021/. Record last updated 2026-10-29.

Key facts

Started
2021-07-24 (24 July 2021)
Ended
2021-07-27 (27 July 2021)
Status
ended
Severity
2 Moderate
Scope
regional
Chokepoints
None
Lanes
None
Countries
China
Confidence
low: Every source is trade or general press and no port authority or maritime safety notice was retrieved. The Yangshan closure rests on a Bloomberg report quoting a social media post and unnamed people, Ningbo is supported only by Lloyd's List and SEKO Logistics through FreightWaves with no times, and no source gives reopening times.
First reported
2021-07-23 (23 July 2021)
  • Severity basis: Yangshan terminals halted operations on 2021-07-24 and trade press reported the Shanghai ports shut until at least 2021-07-27 with operations restarting that day, which falls in the band of 24 hours to 7 days at port level.

What happened

Typhoon In-fa halted container handling at Shanghai and Ningbo in late July 2021. Lloyd's List reported on 2021-07-23 (23 July 2021) that pickups and deliveries were being suspended at terminals in both ports, and said Yangshan would stop box pickups from 06:00 and deliveries from 12:00 on 2021-07-24. On 2021-07-24 the Yangshan maritime safety administration said vessels had been moved out and all terminals had halted. In-fa reached Zhejiang province on 2021-07-25. Bloomberg reported Shanghai's ports shut until at least 2021-07-27, and Lloyd's List said on that date that operations were restarting. No source reviewed gives a reopening time for Ningbo or for individual Shanghai terminals.

Measured effect

Port calls, Shanghai (Yangshan)

Not yet computed. The effect engine (wfm-effect-1.2) will compare 2021-07-24 to 2021-07-27 with a 56 day baseline ending 8 days before the start, once the series for this window is loaded.

Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.

This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.

Container ship port calls, Shanghai (Yangshan)

Not yet computed. The effect engine (wfm-effect-1.2) will compare 2021-07-24 to 2021-07-27 with a 56 day baseline ending 8 days before the start, once the series for this window is loaded.

Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.

This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.

Port calls, Ningbo

Not yet computed. The effect engine (wfm-effect-1.2) will compare 2021-07-24 to 2021-07-27 with a 56 day baseline ending 8 days before the start, once the series for this window is loaded.

Port calls, NingboPort calls, Ningbo, 2021-05-15 (15 May 2021) to 2021-09-07 (7 September 2021): values ranged from 0 calls per day on 2021-07-23 to 77 calls per day on 2021-06-16, with a mean of 50.9 calls per day. The latest value, for 2021-09-07, was 41 calls per day. The shaded band marks the event window, 2021-07-24 to 2021-07-27.0204060802021-05-152021-07-122021-09-07
Port calls, Ningbo, 2021-05-15 (15 May 2021) to 2021-09-07 (7 September 2021): values ranged from 0 calls per day on 2021-07-23 to 77 calls per day on 2021-06-16, with a mean of 50.9 calls per day. The latest value, for 2021-09-07, was 41 calls per day. The shaded band marks the event window, 2021-07-24 to 2021-07-27.

Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms. Retrieved 2026-10-21 (21 October 2026).

Port calls, Ningbo (calls per day).
Datecalls per day
2021-05-1564
2021-05-1655
2021-05-1769
2021-05-1852
2021-05-1959
2021-05-2065
2021-05-2159
2021-05-2253
2021-05-2353
2021-05-2464
2021-05-2565
2021-05-2662
2021-05-2750
2021-05-2863
2021-05-2959
2021-05-3054
2021-05-3163
2021-06-0156
2021-06-0233
2021-06-0368
2021-06-0458
2021-06-0560
2021-06-0658
2021-06-0757
2021-06-0857
2021-06-0953
2021-06-1054
2021-06-1148
2021-06-1221
2021-06-1361
2021-06-1455
2021-06-1556
2021-06-1677
2021-06-1747
2021-06-1856
2021-06-1963
2021-06-2053
2021-06-2168
2021-06-2255
2021-06-2365
2021-06-2447
2021-06-2563
2021-06-2649
2021-06-2747
2021-06-2854
2021-06-2946
2021-06-3049
2021-07-0151
2021-07-0248
2021-07-0367
2021-07-0450
2021-07-0559
2021-07-0657
2021-07-0763
2021-07-0861
2021-07-0960
2021-07-1051
2021-07-1162
2021-07-1248
2021-07-1348
2021-07-1457
2021-07-1563
2021-07-1659
2021-07-1766
2021-07-1856
2021-07-1937
2021-07-2032
2021-07-2143
2021-07-2221
2021-07-230
2021-07-241
2021-07-252
2021-07-2615
2021-07-2765
2021-07-2869
2021-07-2977
2021-07-3052
2021-07-3168
2021-08-0147
2021-08-0247
2021-08-0365
2021-08-0450
2021-08-0530
2021-08-0665
2021-08-0742
2021-08-0846
2021-08-0952
2021-08-1044
2021-08-1142
2021-08-1253
2021-08-1337
2021-08-1436
2021-08-1538
2021-08-1626
2021-08-1734
2021-08-1869
2021-08-1945
2021-08-2055
2021-08-2146
2021-08-2245
2021-08-2341
2021-08-2453
2021-08-2555
2021-08-2642
2021-08-2743
2021-08-2837
2021-08-2932
2021-08-3046
2021-08-3161
2021-09-0155
2021-09-0253
2021-09-0343
2021-09-0431
2021-09-0564
2021-09-0642
2021-09-0741

This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.

Port calls, Shanghai

Not yet computed. The effect engine (wfm-effect-1.2) will compare 2021-07-24 to 2021-07-27 with a 56 day baseline ending 8 days before the start, once the series for this window is loaded.

Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.

This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.

Timeline

  1. Lloyd's List reports container pickups and deliveries suspended at terminals in Shanghai and Ningbo ahead of In-fa, with Yangshan due to stop pickups from 06:00 and deliveries from 12:00 local time on 2021-07-24. [s3]
  2. All container ship docks at Yangshan are reported shut and about 150 vessels evacuated. The Yangshan Port Maritime Safety Administration says on social media that all terminals have halted operations. [s1] [s2]
  3. In-fa reaches Zhejiang province. SEKO Logistics later reports container freight terminals at Shanghai and Ningbo shut and vessel movements delayed. [s1] [s5]
  4. Bloomberg reports all of Shanghai's ports and some in neighbouring areas shut until at least 2021-07-27, including Yangshan, with oil, LNG and bulk cargo also stopped. [s1]
  5. Lloyd's List reports port operations restarting and a backlog to clear, with about 10% of the usual container vessel berthings at key Chinese hubs in the past week. [s6]

Cause

The ports halted ahead of and during Typhoon In-fa, which China's National Meteorological Centre placed under an orange alert and which crossed Zhejiang province on 2021-07-25. Attributed by: Lloyd's List, Bloomberg and the Yangshan Port Maritime Safety Administration, as reported. [s1] [s3]

Resolution

2021-07-27 (27 July 2021): Lloyd's List reported port operations restarting on 2021-07-27. Container News described the Shanghai closure as lasting four days. The sources reviewed do not give a reopening time for Ningbo. [s4] [s6]

Corrections

No corrections to this record as of 2026-10-29 (29 October 2026).

Sources

  1. [s1] gCaptain (Bloomberg), Shanghai mega ports shuttered as Typhoon In-Fa slams east China, published 2021-07-26 (26 July 2021), accessed 2026-10-28. Archived copy. (press)
  2. [s2] Al Jazeera, China shuts down ports, cancels flights as Typhoon In-Fa nears, published 2021-07-24 (24 July 2021), accessed 2026-10-28. Archived copy. (press)
  3. [s3] Lloyd's List, Port operations in Shanghai and Ningbo disrupted by typhoon, published 2021-07-23 (23 July 2021), accessed 2026-10-28. Archived copy. (press)
  4. [s4] Container News, Backlog remains in Shanghai in Typhoon In-fa's wake, published 2021-08-05 (5 August 2021), accessed 2026-10-28. Archived copy. (press)
  5. [s5] FreightWaves, Typhoon In-fa slows air, ocean exports from China, published 2021-07-26 (26 July 2021), accessed 2026-10-28. Archived copy. (press)
  6. [s6] Lloyd's List, China port calls slump as typhoon In-fa takes its toll, published 2021-07-27 (27 July 2021), accessed 2026-10-28. Archived copy. (press)

Cite this record

The address of this record is permanent and a correction is always logged on this page, so a citation names the version you read. Add the date you accessed it.

Plain text

World Freight Monitor. "Typhoon In-fa halts container handling at Shanghai and Ningbo ports." Last updated 2026-10-29 (29 October 2026). https://worldfreightmonitor.com/events/2021/typhoon-in-fa-shanghai-ningbo-2021/

APA

World Freight Monitor. (2026). Typhoon In-fa halts container handling at Shanghai and Ningbo ports. World Freight Monitor. https://worldfreightmonitor.com/events/2021/typhoon-in-fa-shanghai-ningbo-2021/

BibTeX

@misc{wfm_typhoon_in_fa_shanghai_ningbo_2021,
  author = {{World Freight Monitor}},
  title = {Typhoon In-fa halts container handling at Shanghai and Ningbo ports},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Last updated 2026-10-29},
  url = {https://worldfreightmonitor.com/events/2021/typhoon-in-fa-shanghai-ningbo-2021/}
}