Nine shipmanagers have been handed crew change bans by the Ministry of Transport in Beijing after a series of ships entering China were found to have staff onboard with Covid infections.

China is taking a very tough stance against Covid after recent waves of variant cases spooked authorities. China hit a half-year high in daily coronavirus cases yesterday. The 76 infections reported on Monday are the most since January and include 40 domestic transmissions.

Among the best known names on the banned list are Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement and Navios Tankers Management. The bans last up to one month.