By Liu Shi’an, Xie Weiqun, People’s Daily

Yangshan Deepwater Port, as part of Shanghai Port, is a witness to China’s firm opening-up measures. As a major international shipping hub, the small port carries enormous energy.

Port of Shanghai’s container throughput exceeded 47 million 20-foot equivalent containers in 2021, ranking first in the world for 12 consecutive years, and nearly half of those containers were handled by Yangshan Port.

Besides, Shanghai Port has more than 300 international shipping routes, and more than 80 of them depart from Yangshan Port, which are mostly ocean lines.

In the 1990s, China’s foreign trade was booming due to accelerating opening up. At that time, most of Shanghai’s ports were on the south bank of the Yangtze River estuary and along the Huangpu River, where there were no deep-water berths for cargo ships. heavy. Therefore, the construction of a deep-water port was put on Shanghai’s agenda in 1995.

After China’s admission to the WTO in December 2001, construction of Yangshan Port officially began the following year. By the end of 2005, the first phase of the port had been commissioned.

Shanghai Port ranked first in the world in container throughput soon after Yangshan Port was opened. Through the implementation of major national strategies, such as the Belt and Road Initiative, the construction of pilot free trade zones and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the throughput of Yangshan Port records every year records. With a steadily increasing transshipment rate, Yangshan Port has gradually acquired the status of a global hub.

On December 10, 2017, the fourth phase of Yangshan Port began trial operation. As the largest automated container terminal in the world, the project is also called an “unmanned terminal”, which can operate 24 hours a day.

Last year, when the devastating COVID-19 pandemic was still having a huge impact on the international shipping industry, Yangshan Port turned the tide and recorded 12.8% growth in throughput, which which laid a solid foundation for the 8.1% growth achieved by the Port of Shanghai. .

When international shipping orders were severely hampered and the business of the world’s major ports remained stagnant, Yangshan Port continued to operate and became a vital hub for global shipping thanks to the positive results of the fight against the pandemic in China.

“Normally, the port of Shanghai sees 1,200 regular international cargo ships every month. However, some mainline freighters were rendered unpunctual as other international ports were seized. Therefore, we have made appropriate adjustments based on our forecasts and analyzes to ensure the orderly arrival of ships,” said Yang Yanbin, deputy general manager of the production department of Shanghai International Port (Group) Co., ltd. (SIPG).

Over the past year, many freight companies have rescheduled their international routes, taking Yangshan Port as their transfer hub.

To better manage the situation, the SIPG is accelerating the development of information and intelligence technologies. Using virtual reality, digital twin and other new technologies, the group has built an intelligent joint emergency dispatch center and a digital port production platform to control the port with greater efficiency. In addition, the port is also connected to marine meteorology and tidal data.