A Singaporean tanker loaded with 40,000 metric tons of aircraft fuel departed from Zhoushan Port in East China's Zhejiang province for Bangladesh on Feb 12.

This is the first time aircraft fuel was shipped overseas from the port, and it marks a significant milestone in the formation of a complete oil and gas industrial chain in the city's free trade zone, said local authorities.

Zhang Huiqiang, the deputy director of the storage and transportation department of Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical Co Ltd, said the export of aircraft fuel will be key to helping his company expand into overseas markets and improve its international competitiveness.

The petrochemical facility, which was built by Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical Co Ltd, has greatly increased the city's crude oil processing capacity, with 260,000 to 300,000 tons of aircraft fuel processed a month.

Gu Zhewei, a staff of Zhoushan Customs, said that they have developed a solution ahead of schedule to ensure the export could be carried out smoothly, and that they will continue efforts to improve supervision services.