Lianyungang Port Enters “Age of Large Ships”

From: Lianyungang Daily Updated: 2024-01-09 08:10

Yesterday morning, Shandong Daren, a bulk cargo ship carrying 400000 tons of ore, docked at anchorage No. 7 in the main port area facing the rising sun. This is the second fully loaded 400000-ton “giant” in our city since the ship “Brazilian Ore” docked at the port in December last year, breaking the record for the maximum cargo capacity of a ship since the opening of Lianyungang Port. After the completion and acceptance of the 300000-ton waterway, 400000-ton ships have been berthed regularly, fully unleashing the potential of Lianyungang as a deep-water port and enhancing the overall competitiveness of the port.　

The ship “Shandong Daren” departed from Brazil, crossed the sea and arrived at Lianyungang, waiting to unload at the port. The ship is 362 meters tall, with a total cargo capacity of 391100 tons and a draft of 22.8 meters when entering the port. In order to ensure the smooth docking of ships, the heads of relevant port units in our city have held meetings for pre-navigation technical discussions, reviewed the previous 400000-ton ship’s entry technology, and combined with real-time hydrological and meteorological conditions to study and develop scientific and detailed navigation and emergency plans, achieving effective coordination between front and rear forces, and fully ensuring that navigation operations are without accidents and waiting time.

For a long time, with the strong support of national, provincial and municipal transportation authorities as well as maritime, customs, border inspection, pilot and other port units, the unloading capacity of ships at Lianyungang Port has been continuously improved. In September 2023, the completion and acceptance of the 400000-ton ore terminal renovation and expansion project at Lianyungang Port further improved the port’s supporting service capacity. In December 2023, the second phase of the 300000-ton waterway project at Lianyungang Port was completed and accepted, achieving a qualitative leap in the unloading capacity of large ships at Lianyungang Port.　

At present, Lianyungang Port has formed a comprehensive collection and distribution system that integrates railways, highways and water-water transfer. Through sea-rail intermodal transportation, sea-river intermodal transportation and road-rail water intermodal transportation, it can radiate to steel mills in central and western regions such as Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Gansu along the Longhai Line. Water-water transfer pattern can cover the Yangtze River Basin, coastal areas, Japan and South Korea.

Every record breaking is not only a transcendence of past achievements, but also an exploration of new possibilities for the future. “Now, several ships with a capacity of 300000 tons or above enter and exit the port every day on average, and Lianyungang Port has entered the ‘age of large ships’.” Pan Gaohua, Deputy Station Director of Lianyungang Pilot Station, introduced that with the increasing number of ships berthing and carrying capacity at Lianyungang Port, the demand for pilot production continues to expand. Lianyungang Pilot Station will continue to improve pilot technology, cultivate pilot talents and provide hardcore technical support for the high-quality development of port navigation.

“The 400000-ton ore terminal at Lianyungang Port is currently one of the largest bulk cargo berths in the world. Since its opening last year, it has fully adapted to the trend of large-scale ship development, providing important support for the port’s cargo volume.” Zhang, the person in charge of Lianyungang Xinsu Port Terminal Company, states that it is foreseeable that in the next step, with the normalization of berthing of 400000-ton ships, the unloading efficiency will also repeatedly reach new highs. The port staff will further optimize the business environment, compress vessel parking time, reduce transportation costs for ship owners and other enterprises, and lay a solid foundation for Lianyungang Port to fully play its role as an international hub seaport.