"Yantai-Djibouti" General Cargo International Route Launched

Recently, a foreign trade ship carrying 21,000 tons of engineering machinery set sail from Yantai Port in Shandong to Djibouti, marking the opening of the "Yantai-Djibouti" international breakbulk cargo route. Yantai Port has now opened a total of 36 international breakbulk cargo routes.

Djibouti is located at the Horn of Africa, on the western shore of the Gulf of Aden, guarding the Mandeb Strait that connects the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. It is a critical maritime trade chokepoint linking Asia, Africa, and Europe. Approximately one-third of global shipping passes through this waterway, with nearly 20,000 vessels transiting annually.

As a northern China's breakbulk logistics hub and China's leading trade port with Africa, Yantai Port is positioned as the "starting port of the China-Africa logistics golden corridor." Through "four integrations and one platform," it connects with subcommittee members to precisely meet the demands of the African market and inland manufacturing enterprises. It formulates exclusive plans such as "one ship, one policy" and "one enterprise, one policy," integrating all aspects of multimodal transport, mainline shipping, port distribution, inspection and customs clearance, and overseas distribution. This builds an integrated supply chain system of "domestic collection and distribution-ocean shipping-Djibouti transit," reducing overall social logistics costs by 30%.

During operations, addressing the characteristics of diverse and complex breakbulk cargo categories, the International Breakbulk Terminal Company leveraged a digital supply chain platform, intelligent tallying, smart loading systems, and other advanced technologies. It streamlined the entire process, including online vehicle reservations, cloud-based yard navigation, precise cargo stack positioning, inbound tallying, inventory control, automated ship loading list preparation, arrival declarations, customs clearance, smart loading, and ship loading verification. Overall operational efficiency improved by 24.8%, and the professional and efficient services earned high recognition from shipowners and cargo owners.

In recent years, the demand for maritime trade with Africa has continued to expand. Yantai Port has leveraged the advantages of its "China-Africa two-way logistics golden corridor" and "ALL LIFT International" world-class specialized breakbulk terminal brand. It has focused on the "bauxite-breakbulk" two-way heavy cargo transport model, establishing a liner route network covering more than 20 African countries, including Guinea, Tanzania, and Nigeria. In the first half of the year, Yantai Port's African breakbulk liner business grew by 66.1% year-on-year, becoming a maritime golden corridor for China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.