Logistics port in China's Shenzhen launches int'l ro-ro shipping route

A container carrying supplies for Hong Kong is loaded onto a ship at Dachanwan wharf of Shenzhen port, south China's Guangdong Province, Feb. 21, 2022. (Xinhua/Liang Xu)

SHENZHEN, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- A total of 215 vehicles loaded on a large ro-ro ship departed from the Xiaomo International Logistics Port in south China's Shenzhen Municipality on Wednesday, bound for the Middle East.

The departure marked the official opening of the logistics port's ro-ro shipping route linking Xiaomo Port and the Persian Gulf.

Xiaomo Port's phase-one project has seen the completion of the construction of two 100,000-tonne-level multi-purpose berths and a 50,000-tonne-level berth. The annual throughput of the port's terminals was designed to handle 4.5 million tonnes.

The port plans to build a total of 49 berths in the future, with a gross annual throughput of 75 million tonnes.

In December 2021, the port officially opened for operations. By the end of 2022, it had obtained an official permit to launch international logistics services. At present, it has opened domestic and international ro-ro shipping routes.

Shenzhen, China's key economic hub, is accelerating its development as an international logistics center. Xiaomo Port is building itself into an important strategic logistics hub in Shenzhen, with a focus on the development of smart and contactless logistics.