Recent data showed that the total volume of bunker fuel oil supply in Zhoushan reached 3.15 million metric tons in the first 10 months of 2019, more than any other city in China.

The value of bunker fuel oil supplied to foreign vessels amounted to over $1.2 billion as of the end of October.

Zhoushan is an island-based city in Zhejiang province with abundant coastal resources, known for the famous Ningbo-Zhoushan Port. The bunker fuel oil supply industry is an important part of the city's marine industrial chain, said officials.

The city is now home to 13 ship refueling stations and headquarters of four big bunker fuel oil supply companies.

In recent years, Zhoushan has been seeking opportunities to improve local marine services.

In the first 10 months of this year, a total of 49 new companies and institutions offering marine services set up operations in the city, bringing the total number of such companies and institutions to more than 150.

By August, Zhoushan customs had reduced the average import clearance time to less than 27 hours and export clearance time to less than two hours.

Last year, Zhoushan received 23,000 foreign vessels in total, among which about 6,000 came to the city for business and ship maintenance.

Local authorities said that the city plans to further develop local marine service industries, including bunker fuel oil supply, ship maintenance and marine store supply, in order to build itself into an international base for marine services.