Chinese shipbuilder New Times declares force majeure due to coronavirus

2020 Bulkers

12/02/2020 09:00

BEIJING, Feb 12 (Reuters) - A Chinese shipbuilder has
declared force majeure on deliveries of two newcastlemax dry
bulk vessels, told a company spokesman on Wednesday, as a
coronavirus outbreak and prolonged holiday impeded workers to
return to work.
    Jiangsu New Times Shipbuilding Co, with a production
capacity of 5 million deadweight tonnes (DWT) per annual, has
issued a force majeure notice to 2020 Bulkers  2020B.OL , a
Bermuda-based cargo operator, following the virus epidemic.
    Two newcastlemax dry bulk vessels due to be delivered in
April and May are facing possible construction delays, 2020
Bulkers said in a statement on Tuesday, citing a force majeure
declaration from New Times on Feb. 5.
    A New Times spokesman confirmed the force majeure on the two
vessels. "Workers are still not coming back to their positions
due to the coronavirus. It is not known when they will resume
work and when the two vessels will be completed."
    The death toll of the coronavirus in the country reached
1,113 by the end of Tuesday, while total infections hit 44,653,
according to the state's health commission.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2AB6U4
    Chinese authorities have asked companies to put workers into
quarantine for 14 days after returning from their hometowns for
the Lunar New Year holiday, which has been extended by a week,
in order to rein in the spread of the virus.
    The China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry
data shows that around 75% of workers have come back to work at
key shipbuilding companies in the southeastern provinces of
Fujian and Liaoning, but only around 62.5% workers returned to
Shanghai as of Monday.
    However, shipbuilding companies at Guangdong, Shandong and
Jiangsu, where New Times is located, are seeing workers
"gradually" restart to work, the association said.
    
    

 (Reporting by Muyu Xu and Tony Munroe, editing by Louise
Heavens)
 ((muyu.xu@thomsonreuters.com; +86 10 56692117;))