A 14,000-ton ship that is suitable to operate on the Yangtze River. [Photo/WeChat account: china-zjftz]

Zhoushan, an island city in East China's Zhejiang province, has seen rapid development of its sea-river combined transportation in recent years, local media reported on Nov 21.

Statistics from the Zhoushan shipping and port bureau show that in the first 10 months of this year, the sea-river combined transportation delivered 238 million metric tons of cargo, a year-on-year increase of 7.23 percent.

Transitioning from bulk transportation to container transportation is the highlight of the city's sea-river combined transportation development this year, said a staff member from the bureau.

He noted that container transportation is a type of modern logistics solution that can lower cargo wear and tear, as well as reduce logistics costs.

Currently, Zhoushan has reached cooperative intention agreements with nearly 20 ports along the Yangtze River, including Wuhan, Huangshi, and Jiujiang. In the first 10 months of the year, 8,157 twenty-feet equivalent units of grain that transitioned from bulk transportation were delivered by Zhoushan for these ports.

The city also introduced four inland river shipping companies to develop 14,000-ton ships suitable to operate on the Yangtze River.

"Compared with traditional seacrafts, the shipload of the 14,000-ton ships is more than 30 percent higher," said a staff member from a ship design company in Zhoushan. "They also save about 50 percent in labor costs and cut energy consumption by more than 10 percent."

In addition, Zhoushan has also established a sea-river ship research and design center, a drawing inspecting center of the Zhejiang Ship Inspection Center, as well as a crew training center to support sea-river combined transportation.