On Jan 23 midnight, The Chinese government shut down all ports and shipping channels in Wuhan, Hubei province due to the epidemic of the new pneumonia-like coronavirus. The duration of the shutdown was unclear. However, there seemed to be no significant impact on bunker delivery as bunker fuel to vessels was supplied at ports near Nanjing, in Jiangsu province located in the lower Yangtze River. In Wuhan, the automobile industry was perceived to be the major industry, so that shipping routes between the city and Japan, Europe and US had developed.