The vessel COSCO Valencia docks at the Dapukou container terminal in the Jintang port area of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port. [Photo/Tide News]

The COSCO Valencia docked at the Dapukou container terminal in the Jintang port area of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port on March 6. The ship has been scheduled to load 926 twenty-foot equivalent units of goods, heading to South Africa and other countries.

This event marks the launch of a new shipping route to South Africa, which is the 50th international shipping route at the Dapukou container terminal.

Additionally, another new route – Maersk's East Africa service – is set to commence operations this week.

The new shipping route provides more logistics options for containerized foreign trade transport in the Ningbo-Zhoushan region, as well as the broader North and East China areas, catering to the growing demand for trade transportation.

Since the beginning of the year, Zhoushan's maritime authorities have supported three new routes at the Dapukou container terminal and escorted 675 international shipping vessels, marking a 28.3 percent increase from the previous year.

During the same period, the container terminal's throughput reached 550,000 TEUs, reflecting a 57 percent year-on-year growth.