200m TEUs:Yantian Port reaches new milestone

 Yantian International Container Terminals (YICT) handled its 200 millionth TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) on Feb. 1, a new milestone that was achieved in only eight years from the 100 millionth TEU.

It took about 18 and a half years for YICT to achieve its first milestone of 100 million TEUs in 2013, following its 2007 performance when it became the world’s first container terminal to reach an annual throughput exceeding 10 million TEUs.

A celebration ceremony held Monday to mark the achievement also witnessed the launch of the preferred port for cross-border e-commerce businesses in South China, a project aimed at attracting more e-commerce businesses to Yantian.

As a marine transport hub in Guangdong-Hong Kong and Macao Greater Bay Area, YICT plays a vital role by carrying out one-third of Guangdong’s foreign trade and one quarter of China’s foreign trade with the U.S.

As proposed at the recently concluded Sixth Congress of the Fifth Yantian District CPC Committee, the district will speed up building the eastern port area of Yantian Port into a new-generation automated intelligent port, put emphasis on the development of cross-border e-commerce business and bonded logistics, promote the exhibition and trade of bonded products and attract more high-quality enterprises to participate in the construction of the port economic belt.

With its geographical advantages, natural deep-water berths, state-of-the-art terminal facilities, efficient clearance procedures and comprehensive transportation network, YICT has become the preferred port of call for mega-vessels. As of now, Yantian Port can accommodate five 400-meter-long container ships, each at 200,000 tons, simultaneously.

Currently, it serves about 100 ships every week from over 40 well-known international shipping companies, 60 percent of which operate European and American routes.

In 2020, despite the pandemic, its throughput reached 13.34 million TEUs, up by 2.1 percent over 2019. It was awarded Shenzhen Mayor Quality Award for the year 2020.

YICT’s container throughput exceeded 1.46 million TEUs in September, breaking the global monthly record for a single terminal run by one port operator, following the record of 1.42 million TEUs in August.