The first professional automobile roll on-roll off terminal in Zhoushan is put into operation on Nov 10. [Photo/WeChat account: china-zjftz]

The first professional automobile roll on-roll off terminal, or ro-ro terminal, in Zhoushan was put into operation on Nov 10, local media reported.

More than 100 cars were loaded onto Changfalong ro-ro ship to be delivered to Tianjin, concluding the terminal's first successful day of operations.

The ro-ro terminal, located in Dinghai Industrial Park, covers an ocean area of 13.63 hectares and makes use of 490 meters of port shoreline. It is capable of accommodating two 20,000-metric-ton ro-ro ships or one 5,000-ton ro-ro ship and one 50,000-ton ro-ro ship at the same time.

The ro-ro terminal is designed to facilitate the transport of 600,000 vehicles and 190,000 tons of auto parts per year. Water transport has a larger maximum freight volume, lower logistical costs, and emits less pollutants than land transport.

Taking advantage of its position as home to the only professional ro-ro terminal in Zhoushan, Dinghai Industrial Park will establish an e-commerce platform exclusively for automobiles by introducing automobile dealers, auto financial service institutions, and auto parts storage service providers in the future.