The Port of Tianjin has reportedly started to resume container operations even as China’s state news agency Xinhua reports the death toll rising to 112 and the missing climbing to 95 people, including 85 firefighters, after the August 12 warehouse blasts that rocked one of the world’s busiest container ports.
Reports said Cosco Pacific’s Wuzhou Five Continents International Container Terminal and Euroasia International Container Terminal, the latter sustaining slight damage, have restarted their services. Box ships that had been idling outside the port have been allowed to enter and unload shipments.
However, there continues to be reports of a build-up of congestion and movement delays as many warehouses and depots remain closed.
At present, carriers, shippers, and logistics operators are still trying to assess the extent of the damage wrought on their businesses by the blasts. While some have expressed worries about further delays, others are more upbeat, particularly since terminals operations and customs clearance have begun to normalize.
The port city’s maritime authority in an online post Friday stated that the port is operating normally except where oil tankers and ships carrying what it termed as hazardous goods are involved.
In an August 17 report, Xinhua said a total of 698 people remain in the hospital, including 57 in critical or serious condition, and 77 others have been discharged.
The first explosion occurred around 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday at a warehouse in the Binhai New Area. Only seconds later, a second blast wreaked more havoc, shooting fireballs into the sky, damaging nearby buildings, and setting cars on fire.
Tianjin is the 10th biggest container port in the world in box traffic terms, handling about 14 million TEUs, and experts say its importance is such that even minor snags could impact on international supply chains.
Photo: Karl-Ludwig Poggemann
