Qingdao Port ranks among other world-class ports

The 2023 World-class Ports Evaluation Indicators (WPEI) list was released during the 7th Maritime Silk Road Port International Cooperation Platform, which took place in Ningbo city on July 18. According to the evaluation indicators, Qingdao Port of Shandong Port Group (SPG) was ranked as a world-class port.      

Qingdao Port serves as a multidirectional connection hub for China, a shipping outlet for the Yellow River basin, as well as a significant transit and storage base for bulk commodities like crude oil, ore, coal, grain, and raw materials.

Since its establishment four years ago, SPG has worked closely with its port and shipping partners to provide smoother logistics corridors, open more shipping routes and jointly build a harmonious port and shipping ecosystem.

At present, SPG has focused on strengthening its core competitiveness in order to pursue transformative and high-quality development. Moving ahead, SPG is expected to hasten efforts to build a world-class port cluster, turn itself into a strategic pivot that serves domestic circulation, and strive to become a world-class enterprise.

The 2023 WPEI list was jointly compiled by the China Economic Information Service and the China Waterborne Transport Research Institute. The evaluation selected 34 sample ports and assessed them based on individual indicators and overall performance.

Singapore Port and Shanghai Port continue to take the lead among all ports globally, and the ports of Rotterdam, Zhoushan (Ningbo), Busan, Shenzhen, Qingdao, Antwerp, Hamburg, and Hongkong stood among the other ports with world-class rankings.

Relying on advantages presented by SPG's port integration reform, Qingdao Port has been enjoying outstanding benefits in areas such as port connectivity and customer service efficiency. In 2022, the port's annual cargo throughput reached 58 million tonnes, ranking the fourth among the world's ports. It achieved container volume of 25.67 million TEUs, reaching the fifth in the world. It also opened 28 new shipping routes last year, ranking first in route density among ports in northern China.

On top of that, Qingdao Port has independently developed an intelligent terminal operating system (A-TOS) for automated container terminals, a local alternative of the global terminal's core operating system. The Qingdao Automated Container Terminal has also broken world handling records for the ninth time.

The busy Qingdao Port. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]