A container ship anchors at Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, waiting to be unloaded. [Photo by Yao Feng/For China Daily]

The cargo throughput of Ningbo Zhoushan Port increased 9.5 percent year-on-year to 623 million metric tons in the first half of this year, official data from Zhejiang Port and Shipping Management Center shows.

During this period, the port handled 16.07 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a year-on-year uptick of 21.3 percent.

The cargo and container throughputs were up 11.7 percent and 15.5 percent respectively when compared with the same period in 2019.

The strong results are mainly due to its operator's efforts in expanding its logistics network, seeking digital upgrading, and solving the container shortage issue.

As of the end of June, the port had opened a total of 272 shipping routes, among which 109 were to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Meanwhile, efforts have been made to utilize the sea-rail combined transport model, which refers to a mechanism where goods are first loaded onto trains to Ningbo before being transported overseas by sea and vice versa.

By the end of June, the port had launched 19 sea-rail freight routes, with businesses covering 60 prefecture-level cities across the nation. From January to June, the port reported a year-on-year increase of 32.7 percent in business volume using this model.

The port has also gone to great lengths to facilitating digital upgrading. A number of cutting-edge technologies, such as 5G, autonomous driving, and artificial intelligence, have been applied to improve its operation efficiency.

In addition, the supply of empty containers increased by nearly 350,000 TEUs at the port in the first half, which has effectively alleviated the shortage of containers in the market.

Ningbo and Zhoushan, which are home to the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, were ranked 10th among global shipping hubs in terms of comprehensive strength for the first time, according to the recently released Xinhua-Baltic ISCD Index 2021.