Amid slowing growth in global maritime trade and increasingly complex geopolitical and trade conditions, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port handled over 1.4 billion metric tons of cargo in 2025, becoming the world's first port to reach that level of annual throughput.

According to the Zhejiang province's marine economic development department, as of 2025, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port has ranked first globally in cargo throughput for 17 consecutive years, while its container throughput has remained among the top three worldwide.

Guo Riyi, deputy director of the navigation management division of the Zhejiang's maritime safety administration, said: "A major leap in navigational capacity marked one of the most significant achievements of the port's development in 2025".

The 300,000-deadweight-ton expansion project of the Tiaozhoumen channel achieved trial navigation on Dec 26, ushering the port's core area into the era of "dual channels." The upgrade has increased the passage capacity for ultra-large vessels by more than 50 percent, enabling the world's largest 200,000-ton container ships to pass through around the clock.

The next step will see trial operations allowing 300,000-ton ultra-large crude carriers to enter and exit the port on tide, effectively breaking the bottleneck posed by reliance on a single channel and significantly enhancing the efficiency and resilience of bulk commodity and container transportation.

As a key hub of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port has continued to optimize and expand its shipping network. By the end of 2025, the port had established 309 container shipping routes, connecting more than 700 ports in over 200 countries and regions worldwide.

Furthermore, it had launched more than 110 sea-rail intermodal routes, with services extending to 69 prefecture-level cities across 16 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. In 2025, the port's sea-rail intermodal transport volume exceeded 2 million twenty-foot equivalent units, further extending its reach into inland regions.

According to Zhejiang Seaport Group, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port has continued over the past year to strengthen the "Zhejiang eporthub" brand, extending its one-stop services featuring "single declaration, single inspection and single release" to 26 locations nationwide.

Through the implementation of a "container shipping punctuality and cost reduction" initiative, the port has cumulatively helped vessels reduce waiting time at berth by more than 25,000 hours, saving shipping companies over 867 million yuan ($124.4 million) in operating costs.

In 2025, the port also made significant strides in expanding its overseas operations. With overseas warehouses in Germany and Dubai serving as key nodes, its international logistics service network has continued to improve. New overseas offices have been established in Singapore, Japan and other locations, accelerating the formation of a globalized operating network.

At the same time, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port has actively participated in international port and shipping exchanges, promoting the export of Chinese technologies and management standards and further enhancing its influence and voice in the global shipping community.

Sun Xuejun, chairman of Zhejiang Seaport Logistics Group Co Ltd, said the port has continued to innovate logistics models. The "Ningbo-Zhoushan-Wilhelmshaven" China-Europe Express shipping service has entered normalized operation, shortening the voyage between China and Europe by more than 10 days.

chenye@chinadaily.com.cn