Philippines keeps ports open to all ships despite virus fears

MANILA, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The Philippines said on Wednesday
its ports remain open to all ships, even those from China, in
order not to disrupt the cargo supply chain, but the crew of
vessels arriving from the coronavirus-hit nation will be barred
from disembarking.
All foreigners travelling from China and its two special
administrative regions - Hong Kong and Macau - are currently
barred from entering the Philippines amid a fast-spreading
coronavirus outbreak that has killed nearly 500 people in China.
A Chinese man who arrived from China's Wuhan city, where the
virus emerged last year, has also died in the Philippines.
Concerns about possible delays in shipments of Philippine
nickel ore to China as a result of the port restrictions added
to the upward pressure on nickel prices. CMNI3 SNIcv1
"As far as the ships are concerned, as far as the cargoes
are concerned, we are business as usual," said Jay Daniel
Santiago, general manager at Philippine Ports Authority,
allaying worries about delays in port operations.
He said ports particularly in the Philippine capital Manila
are "fully mechanised" to facilitate cargo loading and unloading
with minimal human intervention.
Nickel ore miners in the Philippines, a major source of the
raw material for stainless steel production in China, usually
resume shipments to their Chinese customers beginning March or
April, after a seasonal stoppage starting the last quarter of
the previous year.
"We have not yet started shipping out nickel ore, but we
anticipate this virus outbreak in China would have no impact on
the demand side," Dante Bravo, president of Global Ferronickel
Holdings Inc FNI.PS , the Philippines' second-largest nickel
ore producer and exporter, told Reuters.
"We believe this issue will be resolved soon given all the
contingency measures put in place by all the parties concerned,"
he said.