Global shipping industry

Disruption to shipping could delay Christmas orders

An outbreak of Covid-19 in Guangdong province in southern China has caused acute congestion at the region's ports.

As a result, shipments have been delayed, exacerbating tensions within global supply chains.

And the knock-on effects could take many months to resolve.

The problems in Guangdong are just the latest in a series of severe setbacks for the industry. Shipping firms have been struggling to cope with dramatic fluctuations in demand triggered by the pandemic, as well as the consequences from the recent blockage of the Suez Canal.

Countries agree to cut shipping emissions, to Pacific delight

The agreement came at the end of a week-long meeting of the International Maritime Organisation, a United Nations body, in London, where small countries were pitted against large shipping nations that were against such restrictions.

Friday's agreement calls for global shipping emissions to peak as soon as possible, and to reduce the total annual greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent of 2008 levels by 2050. It also calls for efforts to be pursued to phase out greenhouse gas emissions from shipping entirely.