China has the fourth largest maritime fleet in the world, and five ports have entered the world's top 10 in terms of throughputs, according to government department sources.
Song Dexing, director of the water transport department of the ministry of transport, said China's water transport industry has made remarkable achievements in 30 years.
"As of the end of 2007, the country had a total of 36,000 berths and 123,000 km of inland waterway mileage. Water transportation has also grown rapidly, with mainland port throughput and container throughput both ranking first in the world for five consecutive years," she said.
In 2007, waterborne cargo transportation realized a capacity of 2.8 billion tonnes and container throughputs reached 6.4 billion tonnes, breaking 100 million TEUs for the first time. In 2007, China's overall shipping capacity was 118 million DWTs (dead weight tonnage), with a maritime fleet ranking fourth in the world.
Its five ports are listed among the top ten in the world for largest throughput with Shanghai becoming the largest port in the world. The China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO) and China Shipping Container Lines Company (CSCL) both are listed among the world's top ten liner companies.
Song Dexing, director of the water transport department of the ministry of transport, said China's water transport industry has made remarkable achievements in 30 years.
"As of the end of 2007, the country had a total of 36,000 berths and 123,000 km of inland waterway mileage. Water transportation has also grown rapidly, with mainland port throughput and container throughput both ranking first in the world for five consecutive years," she said.
In 2007, waterborne cargo transportation realized a capacity of 2.8 billion tonnes and container throughputs reached 6.4 billion tonnes, breaking 100 million TEUs for the first time. In 2007, China's overall shipping capacity was 118 million DWTs (dead weight tonnage), with a maritime fleet ranking fourth in the world.
Its five ports are listed among the top ten in the world for largest throughput with Shanghai becoming the largest port in the world. The China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO) and China Shipping Container Lines Company (CSCL) both are listed among the world's top ten liner companies.