Ningbo port opens two makeshift berths to expedite container handling

With just days to go before Chinese New Year on 1 February, China’s second-busiest container port Ningbo-Zhoushan has opened two temporary berths to clear more containers.

Ningbo-Zhoushan in China’s Zhejiang province, is also the world’s third-busiest container port.

A notice from Zhejiang province’s Department of Commerce said that on 23 January, the port was granted permission by the Ministry of Transport to open up container berth No. 1 in the Chuanshan port area and container berth No. 8 in the Meishan port area to ocean-going ships. Originally, the berths cater to domestic ships.

Since 2017, the annual container throughput of Chuanshan Port has exceeded 10 million TEU, and Meishan Port has been the main growth point of Ningbo Zhoushan Port’s container business.

Last year, Chuanshan Port and Meishan Port completed a container throughput of 10.87 million TEU and 6.68 million TEU respectively, accounting for 35% and 21% of Ningbo-Zhoushan’s 2021 container throughput. Opening up the two berths temporarily to foreign trade could increase Ningbo-Zhoushan’s 2022 container volumes by about 1 million TEU.