Container route extended to link Yichang and Sichuan
2024-11-06 20:11:00
By Yan Wanqin. Jin Zhi, Zhao Hong, Li Qiyue also contributed to this article.
A cargo ship left Yichang's Zhicheng Port headed for Yibin Port in the province of Sichuan on Monday. This opening marks the first time a container route operated by Yichang Port Group will link the city with a destination outside of Hubei Province.
A cargo ship left Yichang's Zhicheng Port headed for Yibin Port in the province of Sichuan on Monday. This opening marks the first time a container route operated by Yichang Port Group will link the city with a destination outside of Hubei Province.
The GANG SHENG 1605 ship departs from the dock at Yichang's Zhicheng Port for Yibin City, Sichuan Province. Photo by Shen Liang.
The GANG SHENG 1605 ship was loaded with 106 twenty-foot equivalent unit containers carrying about 3,000 tons of thermal coal, and is expected to reach Yibin after a total of 12 days.
Last year, Yichang Port Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Yibin Port Group to open this new container route.
The route is an extension of the existing Yichang-Chongqing route by about 400 kilometers and will help to create a more efficient and convenient port logistics channel in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
Many clients in Yibin purchase coal from Shanxi Province. Prior to the new route, coal was transported by railway. Now, it is sent by rail to Zhicheng Port and then transported by waterway to Yibin. On average, this can save each trip more than 45,000 yuan (US$6,347).
This route will also be used to transport approximately 3 million tons of phosphate deposits each year from Sichuan directly to Yichang and Songzi City, Hubei Province.
In the future, this route will be used to ship goods such as fertilizer, grain and iron ore into Hubei, as well as sending lithium batteries out of the province.
"More than 50 ship deliveries are expected on the route annually, adding a throughput of more than 5,000 TEU to Yichang Port Group. This route will boost logistics efficiency and cut costs for major chemical companies in Yichang," said Huang Tibin, deputy general manager of Yichang Port Group.
Besides this route, the group also operates four container ship routes within Hubei Province.