The vessel Wanlong 128 sets off from Quzhou Port on Nov 26. [Photo/WeChat ID: quzhoufb]

The vessel Wanlong 128 set sail from Quzhou Port on Nov 26, heading towards Ningbo-Zhoushan Port with a shipment of calcium chloride products destined for Montreal, Canada.

This event marked the start of the "Quzhou-Zhapu-Ningbo" foreign trade container route, expanding Quzhou's sea-river intermodal service network and becoming the city's first export container route.

Quzhou Port received the export order from Zhejiang Juhua Group Import and Export Co for 30 twenty-foot equivalent units of calcium chloride, totaling over 600 metric tons. The cargo plans to travel through the "Quzhou-Zhapu-Ningbo" inland waterway feeder line to Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, and then be shipped overseas to Canada.

The Wanlong 128, carrying 30 full containers and 20 empty containers, departed from Qujiang port area. This voyage confirmed that the mid-upper reaches of the Qiantang River can be navigated with three layers of containers.

Since its inception, Quzhou Port has launched three container routes. The newly opened container route from Quzhou to Ningbo-Zhoushan Port is the first dedicated to foreign trade. Compared to road transport, this route can save over 500 yuan ($68.90) per container.

From January to October this year, Quzhou Port handled a total cargo throughput of 7.3 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 9.4 percent. The port's container throughput grew by 77 percent year-on-year, maintaining the highest growth rate in the Zhejiang province for six consecutive quarters.