China Celebrates National Maritime Day
China celebrated its 19th National Maritime Day on July 11, with celebrations taking place in museums and schools along with a range of technical conferences.
The Ministry of Transport released the 2022 China Shipping Development Report which showed that container throughput at ports increased by 4.7% and the volume of rail-water multi-modal transport routes increased by 16% year-on-year.
China Daily reports Vice-Transport Minister Fu Xuyin saying: “By the end of last year, the Chinese fleet reached a carrying capacity of 370 million deadweight tons, double the volume of 10 years ago.” The nation now ranks second in the world in terms of fleet carrying capacity, following Greece.
Around 95% of Chinese cargo shipments in global trade were handled via ocean freight. Last year, China's ports handled about 15.7 billion metric tons of cargo and nearly 300 million containers.
China is also home to over 1.9 million registered sailors, up 5% over 2021 and more than any other country in the world.
The gross domestic product of China's marine economy, including industries such as shipping, shipbuilding and fisheries, exceeded $1.25 trillion in 2022, according to the Ministry of Transport.
National Maritime Day celebrates the first voyage of Zheng He, a renowned navigator during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It was first celebrated in 2005 to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the voyage.
