Typhoon Dolphin halts container terminals at Ningbo and Shanghai

Name: Measured effect: Typhoon Dolphin halts container terminals at Ningbo and Shanghai
Creator: World Freight Monitor
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Typhoon Dolphin halts container terminals at Ningbo and Shanghai. The disruption ran from 2026-08-07 (7 August 2026) to 2026-08-11 (11 August 2026), 5 days, affecting Ningbo, Shanghai, Shanghai (Yangshan). Ningbo averaged 14.6 calls per day during the event window against an expected 54.4 (-73.2%). Shanghai averaged 19.8 calls per day during the event window against an expected 91.9 (-78.5%). Ningbo averaged 10.6 calls per day during the event window against an expected 33.5 (-68.4%). Shanghai averaged 9.6 calls per day during the event window against an expected 33.7 (-71.5%). Shanghai (Yangshan) averaged 3.6 calls per day during the event window against an expected 12.9 (-72.1%).

Key facts

Started: 2026-08-07 (7 August 2026)
Ended: 2026-08-11 (11 August 2026)
Status: ended
Type: Weather stoppage
Severity: 3 Significant
Scope: regional
Chokepoints: None
Ports: Ningbo, Shanghai, Shanghai (Yangshan)
Lanes: None
Countries: China
Confidence: medium: Dates rest on freight forwarder and carrier advisories that agree with each other and with our port call series, but no statement from Ningbo-Zhoushan Port or Shanghai International Port Group was retrieved. The stranded capacity figure is a third-party estimate quoted by one source.
First reported: 2026-08-06 (6 August 2026)

Severity basis: Measured effects at two ports; the portwatch-port-calls series records zero or near zero calls at Ningbo and Shanghai between 2026-08-07 and 2026-08-10, against daily means of about 49 and 88 in the preceding weeks.

What happened

Typhoon Dolphin shut container handling at Ningbo-Zhoushan and Shanghai in early August 2026. Terminals at Ningbo suspended empty and laden container gate operations from 2026-08-07 (7 August 2026), and the Yangshan and Waigaoqiao terminals at Shanghai followed on 2026-08-08 (8 August 2026), ahead of a landfall in Zhejiang province on 2026-08-09 (9 August 2026). Ningbo terminals restarted on the afternoon of 2026-08-10 and Shanghai early on 2026-08-11. Ships had sheltered outside the anchorages and returned together, so waiting times of several days and carrier port omissions followed for weeks, and one carrier-side estimate put stranded capacity above 2.4 million TEU. Our port call series show Ningbo and Shanghai logging zero or near zero calls on the closure days.

Measured effect

Port calls, Ningbo

Baseline (expected): 54.4 calls per day
Observed: 14.6 calls per day
Change: -39.8 (-73.2%)
Standardised score: -4.9
Event window: 2026-08-07 to 2026-08-11 (5 days)
Baseline window: 2026-06-05 to 2026-07-30 (56 valid days)
Method: wfm-effect-1.0
Computed: 2026-09-22 (22 September 2026), data revision 2:7180ac8488bf

Port calls, Ningbo, 2026-05-29 (29 May 2026) to 2026-09-11 (11 September 2026): values ranged from 0 calls per day on 2026-07-10 to 69 calls per day on 2026-08-12, with a mean of 48.0 calls per day. The latest value, for 2026-09-11, was 52 calls per day. The shaded band marks the event window, 2026-08-07 to 2026-08-11.

Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms. Retrieved 2026-09-15 (15 September 2026).

Port calls, Ningbo (calls per day).
Date	calls per day
2026-05-29	59
2026-05-30	64
2026-05-31	54
2026-06-01	44
2026-06-02	51
2026-06-03	45
2026-06-04	52
2026-06-05	57
2026-06-06	61
2026-06-07	60
2026-06-08	61
2026-06-09	63
2026-06-10	59
2026-06-11	49
2026-06-12	58
2026-06-13	60
2026-06-14	42
2026-06-15	64
2026-06-16	42
2026-06-17	53
2026-06-18	56
2026-06-19	48
2026-06-20	63
2026-06-21	44
2026-06-22	54
2026-06-23	48
2026-06-24	56
2026-06-25	56
2026-06-26	65
2026-06-27	55
2026-06-28	58
2026-06-29	65
2026-06-30	49
2026-07-01	43
2026-07-02	36
2026-07-03	57
2026-07-04	52
2026-07-05	41
2026-07-06	54
2026-07-07	60
2026-07-08	52
2026-07-09	15
2026-07-10	0
2026-07-11	0
2026-07-12	0
2026-07-13	56
2026-07-14	59
2026-07-15	60
2026-07-16	46
2026-07-17	60
2026-07-18	63
2026-07-19	55
2026-07-20	56
2026-07-21	57
2026-07-22	54
2026-07-23	59
2026-07-24	49
2026-07-25	49
2026-07-26	52
2026-07-27	54
2026-07-28	50
2026-07-29	52
2026-07-30	40
2026-07-31	45
2026-08-01	57
2026-08-02	45
2026-08-03	59
2026-08-04	53
2026-08-05	49
2026-08-06	26
2026-08-07	0
2026-08-08	0
2026-08-09	0
2026-08-10	21
2026-08-11	52
2026-08-12	69
2026-08-13	53
2026-08-14	53
2026-08-15	49
2026-08-16	54
2026-08-17	58
2026-08-18	50
2026-08-19	47
2026-08-20	46
2026-08-21	46
2026-08-22	54
2026-08-23	44
2026-08-24	58
2026-08-25	46
2026-08-26	3
2026-08-27	0
2026-08-28	34
2026-08-29	67
2026-08-30	53
2026-08-31	58
2026-09-01	55
2026-09-02	50
2026-09-03	53
2026-09-04	46
2026-09-05	34
2026-09-06	55
2026-09-07	48
2026-09-08	51
2026-09-09	53
2026-09-10	47
2026-09-11	52

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

Baseline (expected): 91.9 calls per day
Observed: 19.8 calls per day
Change: -72.1 (-78.5%)
Standardised score: -7.5
Event window: 2026-08-07 to 2026-08-11 (5 days)
Baseline window: 2026-06-05 to 2026-07-30 (56 valid days)
Method: wfm-effect-1.0
Computed: 2026-09-22 (22 September 2026), data revision 3:19b166d14739

Port calls, Shanghai, 2026-05-29 (29 May 2026) to 2026-09-11 (11 September 2026): values ranged from 0 calls per day on 2026-07-11 to 138 calls per day on 2026-08-29, with a mean of 84.8 calls per day. The latest value, for 2026-09-11, was 72 calls per day. The shaded band marks the event window, 2026-08-07 to 2026-08-11.

Port calls, Shanghai (calls per day).
Date	calls per day
2026-05-29	97
2026-05-30	88
2026-05-31	91
2026-06-01	103
2026-06-02	103
2026-06-03	99
2026-06-04	100
2026-06-05	79
2026-06-06	89
2026-06-07	95
2026-06-08	91
2026-06-09	91
2026-06-10	97
2026-06-11	103
2026-06-12	80
2026-06-13	101
2026-06-14	77
2026-06-15	113
2026-06-16	90
2026-06-17	92
2026-06-18	97
2026-06-19	84
2026-06-20	94
2026-06-21	93
2026-06-22	84
2026-06-23	92
2026-06-24	92
2026-06-25	88
2026-06-26	99
2026-06-27	98
2026-06-28	96
2026-06-29	100
2026-06-30	90
2026-07-01	76
2026-07-02	98
2026-07-03	94
2026-07-04	82
2026-07-05	93
2026-07-06	95
2026-07-07	107
2026-07-08	91
2026-07-09	59
2026-07-10	7
2026-07-11	0
2026-07-12	0
2026-07-13	57
2026-07-14	93
2026-07-15	106
2026-07-16	95
2026-07-17	109
2026-07-18	112
2026-07-19	98
2026-07-20	128
2026-07-21	102
2026-07-22	105
2026-07-23	77
2026-07-24	92
2026-07-25	87
2026-07-26	93
2026-07-27	93
2026-07-28	97
2026-07-29	96
2026-07-30	81
2026-07-31	86
2026-08-01	95
2026-08-02	90
2026-08-03	99
2026-08-04	108
2026-08-05	106
2026-08-06	67
2026-08-07	22
2026-08-08	0
2026-08-09	1
2026-08-10	10
2026-08-11	66
2026-08-12	113
2026-08-13	90
2026-08-14	83
2026-08-15	98
2026-08-16	95
2026-08-17	92
2026-08-18	111
2026-08-19	98
2026-08-20	98
2026-08-21	83
2026-08-22	68
2026-08-23	91
2026-08-24	93
2026-08-25	73
2026-08-26	46
2026-08-27	1
2026-08-28	85
2026-08-29	138
2026-08-30	98
2026-08-31	93
2026-09-01	92
2026-09-02	94
2026-09-03	88
2026-09-04	83
2026-09-05	88
2026-09-06	74
2026-09-07	86
2026-09-08	77
2026-09-09	60
2026-09-10	70
2026-09-11	72

Port calls, Shanghai (Yangshan)

Baseline (expected): 12.9 calls per day
Observed: 3.6 calls per day
Change: -9.3 (-72.1%)
Standardised score: -2.6
Event window: 2026-08-07 to 2026-08-11 (5 days)
Baseline window: 2026-06-05 to 2026-07-30 (56 valid days)
Method: wfm-effect-1.0
Computed: 2026-09-22 (22 September 2026), data revision 2:af23abb55a91

Port calls, Shanghai (Yangshan), 2026-05-29 (29 May 2026) to 2026-09-11 (11 September 2026): values ranged from 0 calls per day on 2026-07-10 to 23 calls per day on 2026-06-15, with a mean of 11.9 calls per day. The latest value, for 2026-09-11, was 15 calls per day. The shaded band marks the event window, 2026-08-07 to 2026-08-11.

Port calls, Shanghai (Yangshan) (calls per day).
Date	calls per day
2026-05-29	9
2026-05-30	15
2026-05-31	18
2026-06-01	14
2026-06-02	22
2026-06-03	12
2026-06-04	15
2026-06-05	11
2026-06-06	17
2026-06-07	15
2026-06-08	18
2026-06-09	19
2026-06-10	12
2026-06-11	16
2026-06-12	17
2026-06-13	14
2026-06-14	12
2026-06-15	23
2026-06-16	11
2026-06-17	15
2026-06-18	14
2026-06-19	16
2026-06-20	15
2026-06-21	13
2026-06-22	15
2026-06-23	13
2026-06-24	11
2026-06-25	16
2026-06-26	18
2026-06-27	18
2026-06-28	10
2026-06-29	15
2026-06-30	12
2026-07-01	14
2026-07-02	16
2026-07-03	13
2026-07-04	15
2026-07-05	15
2026-07-06	14
2026-07-07	11
2026-07-08	13
2026-07-09	10
2026-07-10	0
2026-07-11	0
2026-07-12	0
2026-07-13	17
2026-07-14	15
2026-07-15	9
2026-07-16	11
2026-07-17	10
2026-07-18	12
2026-07-19	11
2026-07-20	12
2026-07-21	11
2026-07-22	11
2026-07-23	11
2026-07-24	11
2026-07-25	12
2026-07-26	7
2026-07-27	15
2026-07-28	10
2026-07-29	9
2026-07-30	15
2026-07-31	12
2026-08-01	7
2026-08-02	12
2026-08-03	13
2026-08-04	10
2026-08-05	10
2026-08-06	12
2026-08-07	0
2026-08-08	0
2026-08-09	0
2026-08-10	0
2026-08-11	18
2026-08-12	10
2026-08-13	11
2026-08-14	10
2026-08-15	12
2026-08-16	11
2026-08-17	15
2026-08-18	9
2026-08-19	10
2026-08-20	11
2026-08-21	10
2026-08-22	13
2026-08-23	10
2026-08-24	13
2026-08-25	10
2026-08-26	6
2026-08-27	0
2026-08-28	18
2026-08-29	13
2026-08-30	12
2026-08-31	14
2026-09-01	5
2026-09-02	14
2026-09-03	12
2026-09-04	12
2026-09-05	11
2026-09-06	11
2026-09-07	13
2026-09-08	12
2026-09-09	13
2026-09-10	9
2026-09-11	15

Container ship port calls, Ningbo

Baseline (expected): 33.5 calls per day
Observed: 10.6 calls per day
Change: -22.9 (-68.4%)
Standardised score: -4.0
Event window: 2026-08-07 to 2026-08-11 (5 days)
Baseline window: 2026-06-05 to 2026-07-30 (56 valid days)
Method: wfm-effect-1.0
Computed: 2026-09-22 (22 September 2026), data revision 2:708a7e73a57c

Container ship port calls, Ningbo, 2026-05-29 (29 May 2026) to 2026-09-11 (11 September 2026): values ranged from 0 calls per day on 2026-07-10 to 47 calls per day on 2026-07-13, with a mean of 29.1 calls per day. The latest value, for 2026-09-11, was 29 calls per day. The shaded band marks the event window, 2026-08-07 to 2026-08-11.

Container ship port calls, Ningbo (calls per day).
Date	calls per day
2026-05-29	38
2026-05-30	41
2026-05-31	40
2026-06-01	30
2026-06-02	34
2026-06-03	24
2026-06-04	36
2026-06-05	34
2026-06-06	37
2026-06-07	41
2026-06-08	40
2026-06-09	39
2026-06-10	38
2026-06-11	32
2026-06-12	36
2026-06-13	36
2026-06-14	29
2026-06-15	40
2026-06-16	28
2026-06-17	36
2026-06-18	34
2026-06-19	31
2026-06-20	33
2026-06-21	28
2026-06-22	31
2026-06-23	28
2026-06-24	32
2026-06-25	33
2026-06-26	40
2026-06-27	29
2026-06-28	37
2026-06-29	40
2026-06-30	32
2026-07-01	27
2026-07-02	16
2026-07-03	35
2026-07-04	33
2026-07-05	30
2026-07-06	31
2026-07-07	38
2026-07-08	37
2026-07-09	15
2026-07-10	0
2026-07-11	0
2026-07-12	0
2026-07-13	47
2026-07-14	34
2026-07-15	34
2026-07-16	26
2026-07-17	35
2026-07-18	31
2026-07-19	37
2026-07-20	36
2026-07-21	32
2026-07-22	30
2026-07-23	27
2026-07-24	30
2026-07-25	29
2026-07-26	32
2026-07-27	33
2026-07-28	27
2026-07-29	32
2026-07-30	23
2026-07-31	26
2026-08-01	31
2026-08-02	27
2026-08-03	35
2026-08-04	28
2026-08-05	34
2026-08-06	23
2026-08-07	0
2026-08-08	0
2026-08-09	0
2026-08-10	21
2026-08-11	32
2026-08-12	35
2026-08-13	28
2026-08-14	24
2026-08-15	28
2026-08-16	31
2026-08-17	32
2026-08-18	28
2026-08-19	33
2026-08-20	30
2026-08-21	27
2026-08-22	30
2026-08-23	29
2026-08-24	36
2026-08-25	31
2026-08-26	2
2026-08-27	0
2026-08-28	32
2026-08-29	27
2026-08-30	27
2026-08-31	31
2026-09-01	30
2026-09-02	31
2026-09-03	29
2026-09-04	26
2026-09-05	24
2026-09-06	31
2026-09-07	25
2026-09-08	33
2026-09-09	32
2026-09-10	27
2026-09-11	29

Container ship port calls, Shanghai

Baseline (expected): 33.7 calls per day
Observed: 9.6 calls per day
Change: -24.1 (-71.5%)
Standardised score: -4.2
Event window: 2026-08-07 to 2026-08-11 (5 days)
Baseline window: 2026-06-05 to 2026-07-30 (56 valid days)
Method: wfm-effect-1.0
Computed: 2026-09-20 (20 September 2026), data revision 2:af3c6aae3365

Container ship port calls, Shanghai, 2026-05-29 (29 May 2026) to 2026-09-11 (11 September 2026): values ranged from 0 calls per day on 2026-07-11 to 40 calls per day on 2026-06-01, with a mean of 29.8 calls per day. The latest value, for 2026-09-11, was 32 calls per day. The shaded band marks the event window, 2026-08-07 to 2026-08-11.

Container ship port calls, Shanghai (calls per day).
Date	calls per day
2026-05-29	37
2026-05-30	31
2026-05-31	34
2026-06-01	40
2026-06-02	40
2026-06-03	36
2026-06-04	33
2026-06-05	29
2026-06-06	27
2026-06-07	30
2026-06-08	38
2026-06-09	40
2026-06-10	37
2026-06-11	39
2026-06-12	30
2026-06-13	38
2026-06-14	31
2026-06-15	36
2026-06-16	32
2026-06-17	34
2026-06-18	36
2026-06-19	36
2026-06-20	33
2026-06-21	34
2026-06-22	37
2026-06-23	39
2026-06-24	30
2026-06-25	33
2026-06-26	34
2026-06-27	36
2026-06-28	33
2026-06-29	32
2026-06-30	34
2026-07-01	34
2026-07-02	33
2026-07-03	33
2026-07-04	32
2026-07-05	33
2026-07-06	35
2026-07-07	37
2026-07-08	33
2026-07-09	32
2026-07-10	6
2026-07-11	0
2026-07-12	0
2026-07-13	32
2026-07-14	35
2026-07-15	39
2026-07-16	32
2026-07-17	33
2026-07-18	34
2026-07-19	33
2026-07-20	39
2026-07-21	36
2026-07-22	33
2026-07-23	20
2026-07-24	33
2026-07-25	23
2026-07-26	28
2026-07-27	30
2026-07-28	28
2026-07-29	31
2026-07-30	33
2026-07-31	35
2026-08-01	31
2026-08-02	27
2026-08-03	35
2026-08-04	30
2026-08-05	33
2026-08-06	32
2026-08-07	9
2026-08-08	0
2026-08-09	0
2026-08-10	7
2026-08-11	32
2026-08-12	38
2026-08-13	34
2026-08-14	27
2026-08-15	34
2026-08-16	28
2026-08-17	26
2026-08-18	31
2026-08-19	32
2026-08-20	26
2026-08-21	29
2026-08-22	24
2026-08-23	27
2026-08-24	28
2026-08-25	28
2026-08-26	11
2026-08-27	0
2026-08-28	29
2026-08-29	38
2026-08-30	30
2026-08-31	31
2026-09-01	33
2026-09-02	31
2026-09-03	29
2026-09-04	30
2026-09-05	33
2026-09-06	25
2026-09-07	27
2026-09-08	27
2026-09-09	28
2026-09-10	23
2026-09-11	32

Previous computations (4)

2026-09-20, wfm-effect-1.0, revision 1:7508a3bd37b4: observed 10.6 against baseline 33.5 calls per day
2026-09-20, wfm-effect-1.0, revision 1:337048d92958: observed 3.6 against baseline 12.9 calls per day
2026-09-20, wfm-effect-1.0, revision 2:a17779db9c52: observed 19.8 against baseline 91.8 calls per day
2026-09-20, wfm-effect-1.0, revision 1:55932a20309e: observed 14.6 against baseline 54.4 calls per day

Timeline

2026-08-07Ningbo-Zhoushan terminals, including Beilun, Daxie and Meishan, suspend empty container gate operations at midday and laden container gate operations in the evening as the typhoon approaches. [s1]
2026-08-08Shanghai's Yangshan and Waigaoqiao terminals suspend empty and laden container gate-in and pickup, so both major East China hubs are stopped. [s1] [s2]
2026-08-09Dolphin comes ashore on the Zhejiang coast; vessels bound for the two ports wait outside the anchorage areas. [s2] [s3]
2026-08-10Terminal activity at Ningbo restarts on the afternoon of Monday 10 August. [s2]
2026-08-11Shanghai resumes operations early on Tuesday 11 August. [s2]
2026-08-12Vessel data show 117 ships back in the Shanghai anchorage and 60 in the Ningbo area, with congestion spreading to Southern China. [s2]

Cause

Terminal operators suspended gate and berth operations ahead of the typhoon after China's National Meteorological Center and flood control authorities issued warnings and emergency responses for Zhejiang and Fujian. Attributed by: Terminal operators and Chinese weather authorities, as reported by logistics firms. [s1] [s3]

Resolution

2026-08-11 (11 August 2026): Ningbo terminals resumed on the afternoon of 2026-08-10 and Shanghai early on 2026-08-11. A backlog of vessels and cargo persisted for weeks afterwards. [s2]

Corrections

No corrections to this record as of 2026-09-20 (20 September 2026).

Sources

[s1] Worldwide Logistics Group, Typhoon Dolphin Prompts Ningbo-Zhoushan Terminal Suspensions; Shanghai Under Watch, published 2026-08-06 (6 August 2026), accessed 2026-09-20. Archived copy. (press)
[s2] Kuehne+Nagel, Typhoon Dolphin in China leaves more than 2.4m TEU stranded, published 2026-08-13 (13 August 2026), accessed 2026-09-20. Archived copy. (press)
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