The Yangpu-South Pacific-Australia shipping route, the first intercontinental container route of Hainan Free Trade Port, was officially opened at Xiaochantan wharf in Yangpu Port on Monday morning.

At present, two ships with a total capacity of 1,740 containers have been put into operation on the route, connecting China’s Hong Kong, Cebu in the Philippines, Lae and Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, Townsville and Darwin in Australia and other ports, which will facilitate the trade of coconuts, logs, beef, minerals and consumer goods in the region.

This photo taken on September 23 shows Xiaochantan wharf of Yangpu Port in Hainan Province. (Photo: Xinhua)

In July 2018, the Hainan Provincial Government signed a strategic cooperation agreement with China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO). Since then, COSCO has been making efforts to open and extend shipping lines to connect China's coastal areas to ASEAN countries, with Yangpu Port as the center.

Thanks to these lines, the container volume at Xiaochantan wharf totaled 497,000 TEU from January to August this year, a year-on-year increase of 66 percent despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the container volume of foreign trade stood at 118,000 TEU, up by 432 percent year-on-year, with the growth rate topping the ports across China.

A COSCO container vessel, assisted by two tugboats, is berthed at Xiaochantan wharf of Yangpu Port, Hainan on September 23. 

Container handling at Xiaochantan wharf on September 23, 2020. 

A COSCO container vessel in the sea waters around the Xiaochantan wharf on September 23, 2020. 

(Translated by Liu Luolin)