Super Typhoon Champi Intensifies, Threatening to Worsen Port Congestion in Asia
Cubierto por 3 fuentesPublicado
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Super Typhoon Champi intensified into a system equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of nearly 240 kilometers per hour recorded on October 21 as it moved into waters east of Taiwan. According to NASA, the storm reached sustained winds of 296 km/h on Tuesday, October 20, making it the most powerful storm on the planet so far in 2026.
Impact on Taiwan
The typhoon's advance led Taiwan to suspend much of its activity on Friday, October 23, with around a thousand flights canceled and Kaohsiung, the island's busiest port, shut down. Ocean Network Express (ONE) warned that the closure of key ports in Taiwan would cause delays to its intra-Asia services. The system, even after weakening, is expected to continue its track toward eastern China and southern Japan over the weekend, bringing heavy rain, winds exceeding 200 km/h and waves higher than six meters.
Restrictions at Chinese Ports
The weather threat also prompted maritime controls in Shanghai, Zhejiang and Fujian, with the possibility of temporary closures should conditions worsen, along with restrictions on vessel movements along the Chinese coast and the suspension of pilotage services in the Yangtze estuary. These measures come at a time when Maersk had reported improving conditions at ports along China's east coast, with vessel delays shrinking week on week, though the carrier warned that the normalization of its regional network was still underway.
Prior Congestion in Shanghai
Before the typhoon's arrival, some Shanghai terminals were still facing significant delays: at Waigaoqiao waiting times had dropped to between one and 2.5 days, while sections of Yangshan continued to record delays of four to seven days. At Ningbo, waiting times ranged between 1.5 and three days depending on the terminal. Drewry noted that the region has faced four typhoons in seven weeks and that during week 39 vessels waited an average of 3.4 days at Shanghai, compared with a global average of 1.3 days.
Risk of Further Delays
Operators and shippers consulted by trade media estimate that the disruptions could last between one and two weeks, and some carriers have already blanked sailings to avoid the most congested ports, temporarily reducing available capacity. According to Drewry, an affected network may need around five weeks to recover during a period of low demand and up to two months during peak season, meaning a new cycle of delays could stretch close to the period before Lunar New Year.
