Fujian, China, Ports Unfazed by Container Trade Dip
Port of Xiamen, in Fujian (located opposite Taiwan) lifted 2.06 million TEU from January to April this year, an increase of 11.82 per cent year on year, Xinhua reports. Overall cargo tonnage of the port grew 5.86 per cent to 52.33 million tonnes. In April, Xiamen handled 573,200 TEU, up 18.06 per cent year on year. The overall monthly tonnage increased 16.77 per cent to 15.48 million tonnes. During the first four months, Fujian's main seaport handled a total of 3.11 million TEU of containers, up 10 per cent. Cargo tonnage increased 16.7 per cent to 15.48 million tonnes. In the same period, another major port of Fujian, Fuzhou port, handled 538,400 TEU, up five per cent. Its throughput tonnage increased 13.2 per cent to 33.02 million tonnes.
Log Carrier Sinks Off China
Three sailors died and four others were missing after their Cambodian-flagged log carrier sank off China's southern Fuzhou port on Thursday, rescue officials in Hong Kong said. The 3,946-ton Pamela Dream, with 19 Russian sailors aboard, sent a distress signal in the morning and 12 sailors have since been rescued by passing ships, said Captain Ravi Dewan of Hong Kong's Maritime Search & Rescue Centre. A helicopter from Taiwan and a Chinese boat were still searching the area 10 miles off the mainland for survivors, but the mission could be hampered by about 150 logs floating at sea, he said. A Lloyds dispatch said requests have been sent to ships in the area to try to retrieve the three bodies, which were sighted by the helicopter crew. - (Reuters)
