Ningbo-Zhoushan Port [Photo/VCG]

Zhoushan Port saw stable growth in cargo throughput in the first two months of the year despite the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

According to statistics from the Zhoushan Statistics Bureau, Zhoushan Port handled 78.92 million metric tons of cargo in January and February, up 9.1 percent year on year. The throughput of grains, oil & gas, and coal grew the fastest, increasing by 92.5 percent, 51.7 percent, and 23.3 percent, respectively.

A total of 4,500 metric tons of low-sulfur fuel oil, produced by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation Zhoushan Petrochemical Co, were sent to the customs warehouses of Sinochem Xingzhong Oil Staging (Zhoushan) Co on Feb 23, marking the first export tax rebate for fuel oil in the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ).

“Tax rebates will attract more oil companies to Zhoushan and help increase the competitiveness of the Zhejiang FTZ in the global bunkering business,” said a manager of China National Offshore Oil Corporation Zhoushan Petrochemical Co.

The Zhejiang FTZ houses the most oil companies in China, and a non-state-owned company focusing on crude oil imports, the first of its kind in the country, was established in the zone at the end of last year.

On March 17, a Liberian oil tanker berthed at a dock at the Sinochem Xingzhong Oil Staging (Zhoushan) Co Aoshan Base and finished discharging 47,000 tons of low-sulfur fuel oil within a single day.

“We studied the sailing trajectory of the ship and the health conditions of sailors before the ship arrived, and we made the necessary preparations for controlling the epidemic, thus improving port efficiency,” said a manager of the Sinochem Xingzhong Oil Staging (Zhoushan) Co Aoshan Base.

The Aoshan Base received 330 vessels in the first two months of the year and handled 5.38 million tons of oil.

This growth can be partly attributed to the reliability of ocean shipping. Despite the epidemic, logistics remained stable throughout the 13 international shipping routes of the Dapukou container terminal in Jintang town.

Zhoushan Port handled 227,700 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in January and February, up 11.4 percent year on year, 224,200 of which were handled at the Dapukou terminal, up 12.38 percent.

In addition, Shengsi Islands customs recently cut customs clearance time from 36 hours to just three hours in an effort to save on time and costs for companies.

“We established a 24-hour reservation system to ensure that cargo can clear customs in a timely manner,” said a local customs official.

Port authorities also took measures to avoid personal contact between sailors and workers in order to prevent cross-infection.