On June 23rd, the "Rhone River Maersk" vessel smoothly berthed at the Songyu Container Terminal in Xiamen, marking the official operation of the new direct shipping channel from Xiamen Port to the west coast of the United States, and injecting new and strong impetus into the port and shipping economic development of the Xiamen Special Economic Zone.

During the operation at Xiamen Port, the loading and unloading volume of the first vessel of this route exceeded 1,300 natural containers.

It is learned that this new West Coast route of the United States was opened by the "Twin Stars" cooperation model jointly operated by Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd. The route plans to deploy six vessels with a deadweight tonnage ranging from 50,000 to 70,000 tons, aiming to create a weekly direct shipping route to Long Beach, USA. Among them, the voyage of the "TP9" route is expected to be controlled within about 18 days, which is nearly a week shorter than the previous voyage. The first vessel mainly loaded various goods such as stones, clothing, bathroom fixtures and home appliances at Xiamen Port. After completing the loading operation, it left the port on time and headed for the Port of Long Beach in the United States.

The opening of this new shipping route is of great significance in many aspects. From the perspective of route layout, it has greatly enriched Xiamen Port's long-distance trunk route network, making Xiamen Port's position in the global shipping network more stable. For enterprises in surrounding areas such as Fuzhou, Putian and Shantou, the new shipping route offers them a more efficient and convenient logistics option for goods transfer through Xiamen Port, which helps to reduce their logistics costs and improve the efficiency of goods transportation. Meanwhile, the opening of this route has further strengthened the construction of Xiamen Port as an international hub port and promoted the in-depth implementation of strategic layouts such as empty container transshipment and foreign trade transshipment business.

According to a relevant official from the Xiamen Port Authority, up to now, Xiamen Port has opened a total of 16 shipping routes from Xiamen to major cities in North America. Not only that, but Xiamen Port will also witness a new wave of shipping route openings in the near future. The new import route from the West coast of the United States by Mediterranean Shipping Company and the new India route jointly operated by the United Arab Emirates and Evergreen will both land at Xiamen Port. The opening of these new routes will bring new opportunities and vitality to regional economic and trade cooperation and further promote the prosperous development of the regional economy.