On October 14, after unloading 176,000 tons of Guinean bauxite, the “Sunshine Tianyu” vessel utilized its return voyage empty holds to carry 29,900 tons of machinery, vehicles, and engineering construction materials back to Africa. This marked the first time the annual transport volume of the Yantai Port Shandong Port China-Africa breakbulk liner service exceeded 4 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 53.5%, setting a historical record high since the route’s inauguration in 2015. It has become a “hotline” accelerating the overseas expansion of “Made in China” and supporting the construction of overseas projects, contributing Shandong Port’s strength to the high-quality co-construction of the “Belt and Road” and the enhancement of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.
Faced with the high-frequency liner shipment scale of over 10 vessels per month on average, Yantai Port has closely collaborated with port departments and units such as Yantai Customs, Yantai Maritime Safety Administration, Yantai Immigration Border Inspection Station, and Yantai Pilot Station. It integrates the efficient production service platform element resources of “Zhifu Bay Port Area + Longkou Port Area” and continuously amplifies the policy叠加效应 of “Port + Free Trade + Bonded”. Targeting the complex cargo categories, numerous irregular-shaped pieces, and heavy lifts for the “Sunshine Tianyu” loading, Yantai Port United International Breakbulk Terminal Company customized exclusive lifting plans for clients. Through digital empowerment via “Smart Tally + Smart Stowage”, vessel port stay time was maximally compressed while ensuring safe operations. The loading quality and efficiency received consistent praise from cargo owners and ship operators, further polishing the distinctive “China-Africa Express” brand.
This year marks the final year of the “14th Five-Year Plan”. Looking back to the “13th Five-Year Plan” period, the annual export volume of Yantai Port’s China-Africa breakbulk liner service was only several hundred thousand tons, and route resources were relatively fragmented, often requiring滞留 in port waiting for consolidated shipments. After nearly five years of rapid development, the current Yantai Port China-Africa two-way logistics
corridor has become a “maritime expressway” pulsating with a hundred-million-ton scale.
According to statistics, during the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, the Yantai Port China-Africa breakbulk liner route successfully achieved “four consecutive leaps” from 1 million tons per year to 4 million tons per year, and is expected to exceed 5 million tons per year by the end of 2025, firmly maintaining its position as the world’s top port for bauxite imports and China’s top port for trade with Africa.
As the first domestic port to build a port in Africa, Yantai Port closely follows the Shandong Port’s development philosophy of “Coordinated Development, Collaborative Development, and Characteristic Development”. It precisely aligns with the economic construction needs of African countries, continuously strengthens the “Bauxite – Breakbulk” heavy out and heavy back model, and utilizes the advantage of return vessel empty holds to ship over 200 categories of production and livelihood materials, including machinery, vehicles, and engineering construction materials, to Africa. The China-Africa breakbulk liner routes reach more than 20 countries and regions including Guinea, Tanzania, South Africa, and Namibia. With its strong business growth momentum, it promotes the integration of China-Africa industrial chains, the畅通 of supply chains, and the creation of value chains, becoming another vivid example of Shandong Port facilitating the high-quality development of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.
