Zhoushan is a port city that is increasingly busy. It pilots 10,208 ships weighing 619 million metric tons in the year to Nov 18, a 13.1 percent year-on-year increase. [Photo/WeChat account: china-zjftz]

Zhoushan in East China's Zhejiang province has piloted 10,208 ships weighing 619 million tons in the year to Nov 18, representing a year-on-year increase of 13.1 percent, according to the Zhoushan municipal administration of shipping and ports.

Local officials said it was the fourth year that the port city had piloted more than 10,000 ships annually.

They said that in the current year, its new Huangzeshan wharf undertook trial berthings of 50,000-ton, 100,000-ton and 300,000-ton tankers and as of the end of October, a total of 31 ships had berthed at and departed the facility.

Local officials said the increasing number of super-sized vessels being piloted is a highlight of the current year.

They said that in the first 10 months, Zhoushan piloted 5,668 ships with a length of more than 200 meters, a 13.9 percent increase over the previous year.

In response to the worldwide COVID-epidemic outbreak, a group of employees was assigned to monitor piloted ships and their crew and organized local pilots to perform nucleic acid tests at regular intervals.