“Qianli Qingzhou” Celebrates First Anniversary: Freight Volume Exceeds 7.76 Million Tons, Helping Enterprises Cut Costs by Over 25%

In July 2025, Chongqing launched the "Thousand-Mile Light Boat" project, leveraging the flexibility and efficiency of small vessels ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 tons to break the traditional "cargo waiting for ships" dilemma in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. This initiative achieved regular liner operations where "ships wait for cargo," revitalizing the thousand-mile waterway. Over the past year, under the deployment of the Yangtze River Shipping Administration of the Ministry of Transport, Chongqing Maritime Bureau and Chongqing Navigation Bureau have collaborated based on their respective functions to safeguard this new logistics channel.

As of now, the "Thousand-Mile Light Boat" freight liners have opened 20 routes, serving key industrial parks along the river and enterprises such as Changan Automobile, CATL, and Seres Group. They have safely operated over 1,600 voyages, transporting 7.764 million tons of cargo with a total value of 11 billion yuan, helping reduce logistics costs for enterprises by over 25% and providing solid green logistics support for Chongqing's "33618" modern manufacturing cluster system.

Precise assistance and water depth assurance expand the physical space for shipping

Over the past year, Chongqing Maritime Bureau has established a "one-on-one" assistance mechanism for shipping companies, cargo owners, and port terminals, regularly connecting to identify waterway transport needs, targeting transportation bottlenecks, continuously enriching route offerings, and improving route quality.

Since assisting the launch of routes such as "Jiangjin-Wanzhou" on July 25 last year, the route map has continued to expand. On May 27 this year, the "Shizhu-Changshou" route officially began operations, with stable weekly services of three trips expected to achieve an annual transport volume of over 600,000 tons, improving transport efficiency by about 30% and reducing logistics costs by about 25%, achieving dual benefits.

Strengthening the route network is just the first step; expanding specialized transport scenarios is also ongoing. Chongqing Maritime Bureau assisted in the successful implementation of the country's first regular lithium battery water transport route (Yibin-Chongqing), which has completed the transportation of 90 containers to date. The "Fengjie-Chongqing" navel orange route was also launched simultaneously, enabling 45 trips and transporting 710 tons of high-quality navel oranges out of the Three Gorges to broader markets. From industrial raw materials to specialty agricultural products, the cargo hold of the "Thousand-Mile Light Boat" is carrying an increasingly diverse range of goods.

Water depth is the foundation of waterways and the key to whether ships can run fully loaded and efficiently. The Chongqing Navigation Bureau has reinforced the waterway foundation with water depth assurance, providing physical support for route expansion and fully loaded ship operations.

The bureau innovatively launched a "multi-report per week" service, dynamically assessing and promptly publishing updates based on water conditions, ensuring ships have accurate knowledge of water depth. Data shows that since 2026, weekly forecasts have been issued 29 times, with dynamic updates 47 times, achieving a 96% guarantee rate for a water depth of 3.5 meters. The maximum navigable depth can accommodate ships over 5,000 tons, significantly releasing transport capacity.

Meanwhile, precise maintenance under the "one shoal, one strategy" approach is advancing simultaneously. Throughout the year, 72 waterway surveys, 230 inspections, 2 dredging operations, and 1 channel adjustment were conducted, with signal stations directing 13,620 vessels. After the demolition of the Baishatuo Yangtze River Bridge on the Sichuan-Guizhou Railway, the waterway department seized the construction window to quickly complete surveys and navigation marker adjustments, widening the channel from 70 meters to 220 meters, thoroughly resolving the navigation obstruction that had plagued Luohuang Port for years. The production manager of Luohuang Port stated that the previous minimum water depth of 2.9 meters severely restricted ship loading, but now, with significantly improved waterway conditions, fully loaded ships running efficiently has become routine.

Targeted warnings and intelligent empowerment collaboratively weave a safe operation network

From warnings to monitoring, from command to navigation, the collaboration between maritime and navigation departments ensures the safe operation of the "Thousand-Mile Light Boat" at every stage.

Chongqing Maritime Bureau has built a solid warning and prevention system. The "Thousand-Mile Light Boat" ship warning database has been effectively utilized, issuing over 12,000 specialized safety reminders. Each newly entering and rented ship is individually inspected, with joint inspections and pre-job training completed without omission, providing specialized training for 150 crew members. In response to adverse weather conditions, scenarios such as strong winds, heavy fog, and sudden water level changes are monitored and controlled in real-time by dedicated personnel and screens. Over the past year, more than 9,000 adverse weather warnings, 4,000 traffic control notices, and over 100 on-site specialized maintenance operations have been issued.

Intelligent methods have added technological wings to safety assurance. The Chongqing Navigation Bureau's digital waterway system operates around the clock, with dynamic monitoring of navigation markers and intelligent warnings covering the entire liner route area, serving as a "tireless pilot." The area covered by drones in the jurisdiction has expanded from 12.26% to full coverage, and the intelligent traffic signal command system has been upgraded, enabling remote scheduling in controlled river sections. Notably, the 153-kilometer electronic waterway map of the Jialing River has been fully completed and seamlessly integrated with the mainline system, providing real-time key information such as waterway depth and navigation marker positions, offering precise digital navigation services for "Thousand-Mile Light Boat" operations in tributaries.

Precise scheduling and flexible regulation enhance logistics operation efficiency

Improving efficiency, reducing costs, and optimizing services—the enhanced operational efficiency of the "Thousand-Mile Light Boat" relies on the dual optimization of scheduling and services.

Chongqing Maritime Bureau has taken port-shipping integrated scheduling as a breakthrough, promoting coordinated operations at key terminals, optimizing full-process support measures for liner port entry, berthing, and loading/unloading, and establishing a dedicated scheduling mechanism for the "Thousand-Mile Light Boat." Over the past year, priority port entry and exit have been ensured for 2,538 liner vessels, achieving "direct entry and exit, direct loading and unloading" for 1,548 vessels, significantly improving liner punctuality and operational efficiency.

To address practical difficulties reported by enterprises, such as high long-distance transport costs for small vessels and the inability of large vessels to access tributaries during dry seasons, the maritime department has established a "water-to-water transfer" base in the Damazi waters, implementing a transfer model of "small vessel aggregation, large vessel distribution," resolving key bottlenecks in waterway transport of essential materials between Sichuan and Chongqing. To date, 170 transfer operations have been completed, transporting 271,000 tons of cargo, saving shipping companies over 6 million yuan in costs, effectively reducing accident risks, and achieving complementary advantages between main and tributary routes.

In terms of regulatory services, the maritime department has implemented "non-intrusive" flexible regulation, replacing on-site ship inspections with remote checks to minimize interference with normal ship operations. Since the launch, over 1,000 remote checks of ship and crew information have been conducted, with dynamic tracking and spot checks in key waters exceeding 9,000 instances. Green channels for government services have been opened simultaneously, with convenient measures such as conditional acceptance and on-the-spot processing benefiting ship certificate applications 4 times and crew certificate applications 27 times.

The Chongqing Navigation Bureau has extended services to the front lines of ports, regularly conducting in-depth research at Luohuang Port, understanding scheduling needs face-to-face, solving practical problems point-to-point, and actively promoting the "Yangtze e+" platform's "Smart Navigation Companion" function, enabling efficient integration of waterway information with port production. The Luohuang Port manager said, "With more liners operating, scheduling pressure is indeed high. Now, with just a glance at the phone, you can see where the ships are, the water depth, and when they'll arrive at the port—all clearly displayed, significantly improving scheduling efficiency."

A year is just the beginning; the journey continues to extend. The "Thousand-Mile Light Boat," navigating through the gorges, is sailing toward broader waters with vigor. Looking ahead, the Yangtze River system will continue to deepen service assurance, with better regulation, smoother routes, and stronger safety foundations, enabling water transport to play a greater role in the multimodal transport system and allowing this golden waterway to carry the vibrant prospects of inland openness.