After the 300,000-ton ore carrier “Gemini” loaded with iron ore from Vale of Brazil harbored itself at the D31 berth of Dongjiakou Harbor District, the remote control staff used automated equipment to kick off grabbing. The move marked that the second 400,000-ton ore terminal in Qingdao Port of Shandong Port Group has been officially put into operation.

The major breakthrough enables Qingdao Port to be the first port to boast a 400,000-ton digitally enabled terminal for dry bulk shipping in China as well as two 400,000-ton ore terminals in northern China, and represents a new milestone in building Qingdao into an international shipping center, holding significance for advancing the transformation and upgrading of the port industry.

An era of VLOC (very large ore carriers) was initiated for dry bulk shipping among Chinese ports following the maiden operation of the Dongjiakou Harbor district’s first 400,000-ton ore terminal in 2015. As projects such as Qingdao Port’s second 400,000-ton ore terminal begin operations one after another, the two 400,000-ton ore terminals will work in synergy to help Qingdao to facilitate collection and distribution through the integration of sea, land and rail transportation, and blossom into a world-class port for ore shipping and an “ore supermarket”. (Zhou Xiaofeng)

The “Gemini” ore carrier (on the left) harbored itself at the D31 berth of Dongjiakou Harbor District ore terminal.