Maersk reported that yard density at Yantian had fallen to 65% and productivity had risen to 85%, with waiting times down to half a day. Neighbouring Shekou had yard density at 100% and delays of 3.5 days, Nansha yard density was 78% and wait times were four days and Hong Kong yard density was 93% with three-day waits, according to Maersk’s latest numbers.

“This is first and foremost a health concern for the people of South China and our first thoughts and efforts are with the people affected by this wave of COVID including our many colleagues, customers and suppliers who live and work in that part of the world,” said Ahmed Bashir, Head of Global Execution Centre, Maersk.

Related: Yantian port to resume full operations on 24 June

Bashir said there was no doubt that the slowdown at Yantian as workers were sent home to quarantine been a challenge for the industry.

“I’m glad to report that the situation in Yantian has improved a lot over the last 10 days or so and we’ve begun the process of repatriating services and we expect that to be complete in the next two to three weeks,” said Bashir.

Related: Blank sailings up 300% on Yantian congestion, container rates continue soaring

Managing the transition will need to be done carefully to avoid creating fresh bottlenecks in supply chains, said Bashir. Maersk has previously stated that 19 of its mainline services were hit by the Yantian congestion, and it released an updated plan for its services over the coming weeks.