The port exploded, and the cross-border circle was also "exploded"

On Friday afternoon, when we were looking forward to the end of the workday, news of a port explosion caused a stir in the cross-border circle ...

Ningbo Port Terminal Explosion

Yesterday ( August 9) at around 1:40 p.m. , a container ship docked at the Beilun Port Area Container Terminal in Ningbo Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang Province suddenly had an accident , and videos of the explosion at the scene appeared on major social media platforms .

This news also "woke up" the cross-border circle on a quiet Friday .

Some Middle Eastern freight forwarders are worried that the cargo owners' goods are on the container ship involved, some freight forwarders are worried that other container ships at Zhoushan Port will be affected, some freight forwarders are worried that the export inspection rate will increase again, and some freight forwarders are warning sellers: Be sure to declare the cargo information correctly, and do not conceal , lie , misreport , or miss report .

In addition, from the discussion on the seller side, there are concerns about the impact on their goods; some are worried about the impact on the efficiency of the first-leg logistics, such as the impact on the delivery of some shipping schedules and cabinets in Ningbo and Xiamen ; and some sellers remind that they must comply with the regulations when shipping overseas, "otherwise, what awaits you is not a surge in orders but 'comforts' from relevant departments . "

At present, a freight forwarder of a certain airline has notified its salesmen not to pick up containers at the Phase III terminal of Ningbo Port for the time being , as Phase III has completely suspended production.

According to the video footage, the ship is deployed on the YM GA2 route, and its name is YM MOBILITY . Its departure port is Shanghai, and it stops in Ningbo. The ship mainly travels between the Far East → Middle East CGX route.

As soon as the accident happened, Ningbo Zhoushan Port Co., Ltd. Beilun Second Container Terminal Branch quickly applied for a verified official account on Weibo and immediately issued two notices through the account:

August 9, 15:18    At around 13:40 on August 9, a dangerous goods container (category V dangerous goods) in transit on the No. 2 berth of the " Dong Ming " ship (owned by Yang Ming Shipping Company) of Beilun Second Container Terminal Branch caught fire. No casualties were reported so far, and firefighting forces are being organized to deal with the situation.

In response to this, a shipping company immediately notified that from now on, the Middle East route will stop accepting the transportation of Class 5 dangerous goods .

August 9, 16:51    At 13:45 on August 9, Yang Ming Shipping Company's " Dong Ming " stopped at Beilun Second Container Terminal Branch. During the stop, a dangerous goods container on board caught fire. Firefighting forces were organized to deal with it. There were no casualties, no impact on the terminal, and the fire was extinguished. The cause of the accident is under further investigation.

It is reported that the " Dong Ming " is a ship owned by Yang Ming Marine Transport , which also issued an official statement on the matter on the evening of the 9th , saying that preliminary investigation showed that the accident occurred in a dangerous goods container on board the ship that exploded. According to the declaration of the cargo owner, it was a refrigerated cabinet used instead of a dry cabinet and there was no need to plug in.

According to the Ningbo Maritime Search and Rescue Center , the center has activated the emergency plan, assigned a patrol boat to the scene to implement alert, and coordinated with the port fire department to assign three fire tugboats and shore-based fire forces to carry out emergency response.

For some cross-border sellers, this explosion has some impact.

Industry insiders told En.com, "First, the inspection rate at the port may increase in the short term ; second, some cargo at the port may be damaged by the explosion ; in addition , the port involved will suspend operations, and cargo ships departing from the port may be delayed . "

Seller: Please do not conceal if you are consolidating goods

The five categories of dangerous goods mainly include Class 5.1 oxidants and Class 5.2 organic peroxides. These two categories of dangerous goods are extremely likely to cause fire hazards, so they are more cautious and sensitive in storage, transportation and use.

According to the Beijing News, the container in question contained 16 tons of peroxide, which is a Class 5.2 dangerous good . It is an organic substance containing peroxide groups in its molecular composition. It is flammable and easy to decompose. Therefore, this type of dangerous goods is extremely sensitive to heat, vibration and friction, and the slightest carelessness can cause serious consequences.

In response to the online statement that " the container in question has a refrigeration function, but because it was not plugged in, the temperature inside the box was too high, which led to the accident ", the Beijing News interviewed relevant staff, who stated that the container in question does not have a refrigeration function and cannot be plugged in .

Yesterday, "Container Transport Ningbo" issued the first accident investigation report - "Ningbo Port Container Ship Explosion Accident Report (I)".

The report mentioned that the dangerous goods involved were Type C organic peroxide liquids (this type of cargo will decompose and burn rapidly when exposed to high temperatures or fire).

At present, Ningbo Container Shipping has the following measures to deal with this matter:

1. It has been verified that the manufacturer (shipper) of the product has no direct or indirect cooperative relationship with our company;

2. Immediately check all such goods and suspend their pick-up until further verification and confirmation by the headquarters;

3. Ensure that all dangerous goods transported are handled in compliance with the Group's requirements;

4. It is recommended to pay more attention to the transportation of dangerous goods in transit .

In addition, regarding the follow-up impact, Ningbo Container Shipping said that there may be:

1. Policy changes on the loading and declaration of dangerous goods (inbound, transit and outbound) at Ningbo Port ;

2. Impact on shipping schedules caused by the diversion of ships at the port due to the accident.

As of the time of writing, Ningbo Phase III Terminal remains temporarily closed, but plans are to gradually reopen the port today. There is no definite news yet.

As the operating entity of the coastal ports in Zhejiang Province, in 2023 , Ningbo Zhoushan Port Co., Ltd.'s revenue reached 25.993 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.12%; net profit attributable to shareholders was 4.668 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.45% ; cargo throughput reached 1.324 billion tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.94%; container throughput reached 35.301 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 5.85%.

In terms of throughput, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port is the world's first major port with an annual cargo throughput exceeding 1 billion tons. It is also the port that has ranked first in the world in annual cargo throughput for 15 consecutive years and third in the world in annual container throughput. The port operations are very busy.

Data from the Zhejiang Provincial Port and Shipping Administration Center showed that in the first half of this year, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port completed a cargo throughput of 708 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.2%; and completed a container throughput of 19.165 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 8.4% .

At the same time , in the first half of this year, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port also opened three new international routes. The total number of routes in the port continued to remain at a high level of over 300, connecting more than 600 ports in more than 200 countries and regions around the world.

Judging from the feedback from sellers and freight forwarders, the accident at this port has not caused widespread negative impact in the cross-border circle.

However, freight forwarders have said that this accident will increase the inspection efforts at various ports. For example, " the inspection at Yantian Port has always been very strict, and the intensity will be increased after this time ."

One seller said, " There are not many orders this year, and we have to share containers with others because of the small shipments. I hope everyone will not conceal sensitive goods and send them. I don't want to make things worse . "

At this time of preparing for the European and American peak seasons such as Halloween, sellers are worried that Amazon warehouses will be overwhelmed and rejected, and the rhythm of preparing goods may be interrupted by the first-leg transportation from time to time. Although the shipping costs have fallen, a series of surcharges during the Amazon peak season are about to begin. It's hard ...

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