The Chinese government’s zero-Covid policy with its rigorous lockdowns is putting massive pressure on global supply chains and worldwide commerce: As reported yesterday (see Plasteurope.com of 21.04.2022), several hundred cargo ships are now stuck outside China’s ports, where they are waiting to enter and unload cargo.

The situation is particularly drastic around China’s largest port, Shanghai. The megacity and its 26 mn inhabitants have been cut off from the outside world for weeks. Now Alexis von Hoensbroech, a former Lufthansa Cargo board member, has sounded the alarm. On LinkedIn, the logistics expert posted a screenshot of Marine Traffic, a global tracking platform for traffic on the world’s oceans that displays position data and ships’ movements.

In view of the unmanageable throng of ships off Shanghai, von Hoensbroech writes that it is high time China rethinks its Covid-19 strategy.