Vessels sail on the sea in Zhoushan, an island city in Zhejiang province. [Photo provided by the Zhoushan Maritime Safety Administration]

East China's Zhejiang province unveiled a new pattern of coastal sailing routes in its capital city of Hangzhou on Sept 7, with the aim of creating a safer environment with more unimpeded navigation along its coast.

A total of 15 public routes along the coast of Zhejiang have been adjusted to better connect Zhejiang with Shanghai and Fujian, as well as to improve the sailing courses of ships bound for ports in the province. The new pattern will take effect from Sept 10.

Marine traffic along the coast of Zhejiang is usually heavy and the sailing environment is complicated. Every year, around 2.45 million ships sail in this area. During the fishing season, an average of 15,000 fishing vessels works there per day.

An average of 5,300 ships enters and exits ports in Zhejiang every day. The province's Ningbo-Zhoushan Port has been the world's biggest port by cargo throughput for 12 consecutive years.

Liang Yongming, vice director of the Zhejiang Maritime Safety Administration, said that with the in-depth implementation of major strategies, such as the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the demonstration zone of Zhejiang's maritime economy, the number of vessels along the province's coast is constantly increasing and the entire navigation environment has been undergoing great changes, which made it necessary to adjust sailing routes.

In recent days, maritime authorities in the coastal cities of Zhejiang have been organizing lectures and training courses to explain the new pattern and work plans about the future implementation.