Caofeidian Port enters new phase for ore carriers

The fully loaded 400,000-metric-ton-class ore carrier Yuan Jian Hai berthed at Caofeidian Port Area of Tangshan Port in Hebei province on Sunday, marking a new phase in regular full-load berthing for such ultra-large ore vessels at Caofeidian.

Carrying Brazilian iron ore, the vessel sailed through the Laotieshan channel — Caofeidian Port Area of Tangshan Port Deep-water Route (Southern Route) before docking.

The vessel is about 360 meters long and 65 meters wide, featuring a deck area roughly the size of three standard soccer fields and a fully loaded draft of roughly 23 meters, local authorities said.

The route was formally included in China's national coastal public route system in January, removing a key constraint that had previously forced some 400,000-ton ships to reduce cargo before reaching the terminal.

"This is a landmark full-load berthing operation," said Li Wei, chairman of Caofeidian Port Ore Terminal Co under Hebei Port Group Co.

Li said navigation limits had long prevented the port's deep-water terminal capacity from being fully released. Caofeidian Port Area is the only world-class deep-water port in Hebei province and the Bohai Bay area capable of handling 400,000-ton vessels, and is home to the two berths of this class serving the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

To support the Yuan Jian Hai's arrival and efficient port operations, maritime, customs, border inspection and pilotage authorities worked together. Once the ship was secured, the operation shifted from navigation to clearance, weighing and unloading.

"We use risk-based inspections for imported iron ore, classifying cargo by factors such as origin, route and vessel," said Gao Jiangong, deputy head of Caofeidian Customs. For medium and low-risk iron ore vessels, the differentiated system has helped cut inspection time from more than 60 hours to within 24 hours, he added.

Customs officers also used drones to read draft marks on the hull, with images sent back to a command center for artificial intelligence-assisted calculations. Compared with traditional manual draft surveys by boat or rope ladder, the method shortens the weighing process by about 1.5 hours per vessel and reduces safety risks, according to Caofeidian Customs.

With regular full-load berthing now supported by the deep-water route, Hebei Port Group is also advancing two major projects to strengthen Caofeidian Port's bulk dry cargo layout and extend its role from ship unloading to storage, processing and onward distribution.

The phase-three ore terminal expansion will extend the quay by 107 meters to 910 meters, allowing two 400,000-ton vessels to berth at the same time, improving handling capacity and operating efficiency.

Behind the terminal, construction of the Caofeidian ore storage and logistics project is also being accelerated to provide more space for ore unloaded from 400,000-ton vessels.

"Once completed, the project will have 3 million tons of static storage capacity. It aims to support ore storage, screening, bonded services, processing and rail-water intermodal transport," said Wu Xiujian, general manager of Tangshan Caofeidian Ore Storage and Transportation Co.

guoyanqi@chinadaily.com.cn