A wharf in Yantian port zone of Shenzhen port in south China's Guangdong Province. File Photo: Xinhua

 
Shenzhen's Yantian Port said that it would suspend accepting heavy export containers from 22:00, Tuesday to Thursday, after the port's container yard was clogged following the discovery of several coronavirus cases at the port.

According to a WeChat article published by the company on Tuesday, Yantian Port suspended entrance of heavy export containers from Tuesday to Thursday, although the pickup of heavy import containers and empty containers is operating as normal. 

The port will resume accepting heavy export containers from Friday to June 3.

The port said it made the decision after rising shipment delays had caused its container yards to be clogged, which in turn affected its operating efficiency. There was also traffic congestion in the areas surrounding the port. 

The port has gone through more intensified coronavirus control measures in recent days including comprehensive nucleic acid tests, after five coronavirus cases were found in the port recently. This has resulted in a shortage of staff, and container pickup became very slow. 

Pictures circulating on China's twitter-like Weibo showed many vehicles queuing up trying to enter the port, resulting in severe traffic jams. According to media reports, the port's operation has been impacted including loading and unloading, container pickup time and ship berthing.

Global Times