A wide bay connects both shores; a thriving port links the world—Mazu Bay Port’s transformative leap has ignited the “blue engine” of the southeastern coast.

Located at the junction of the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta economic zones, connecting both sides of the Taiwan Strait and handling bulk cargo, Meizhou Bay Port shines like a dazzling pearl along the southeast coast.

In 2009, with the integration of port resources in Fujian Province, Meizhou Bay Port emerged. In 2015, during a new round of port system adjustments in Fujian Province, Meizhou Bay Port completed the optimization and integration of port areas, forming a development pattern of "Two Shores, Three Bays, Five Areas" that spans both sides of Putian and Quanzhou, covers three bay areas, and includes five major port zones.

Looking back a hundred years, since 1921 when Mr. Sun Yat-sen mentioned the construction of Meizhou Port in the "Outline of National Reconstruction," the century-old dream of a major port in Meizhou Bay has become a reality—In 2021, the cargo throughput of Meizhou Bay Port exceeded 100 million tons for the first time, officially joining the ranks of "100-million-ton major ports"; by 2025, Meizhou Bay Port is expected to achieve a cargo throughput of over 135 million tons.

From "bay" to "port," from "fishing port" to "commercial port," from "small port" to "large port," Meizhou Bay Port thrives through its port-driven industries, accelerating its transformation through continuous efforts.

The level of port hub capacity continues to improve

In May 2021, the 400,000-ton vessel "Yuan Fu Hai" docked for the first time at Berth 9 of the Luoyu area in Dongwu Port, marking the official commissioning of Fujian's first and the nation's sixth port capable of accommodating and unloading 400,000-ton ore ships. Meizhou Bay Port has officially entered the "large vessel era" for dry bulk cargo operations.

“By 2025, Meizhou Bay Port has utilized 14.5 kilometers of terminal shoreline, built 32 berths of over ten thousand tons, and the total length of the channel has reached 128 kilometers,” introduced the head of the Meizhou Bay Port Development Center in Fujian Province.

Since the beginning of this year, the pace of 400,000-ton vessels docking at Meizhou Bay Port has continued to accelerate. As of August, the number of dockings for 400,000-ton vessels has reached 16, surpassing the total for the entire previous year. From sporadic dockings of giant ships to frequent arrivals and departures, since 2021, Meizhou Bay Port has handled nearly 70 dockings of 400,000-ton giant ships, showcasing its strength as a "prime port for giant vessels."

A modernized strong port not only requires berths, channels, and other hard infrastructure but also relies on high-quality port services for support. With the successful implementation of nighttime departure piloting for 100,000-ton bulk cargo ships at the Luoyu operation area, the operating hours for large vessels in the core dry bulk port area of Meizhou Bay have been significantly extended, achieving a substantial breakthrough in port navigation support capabilities.

On July 27, the Meizhou Bay Port Development Center of Fujian Province, in collaboration with seven joint inspection units at the port, including border inspection, customs, and maritime authorities, jointly issued the "Meizhou Bay Port Crew Shore Leave Service Guide" and the "‘Mei’ Good Harbor · Warm Station Guidebook." By referring to the guidebook, crew members can streamline all procedures at once, achieving "one guide for all, one-time completion" for shore leave formalities.

In the dock operation area and the warm service station, ocean-going crew members who have just completed their shift sit down to rest, drink water, recharge, and have a simple meal, making these conveniences a reality. Seven units have integrated the dock party and mass service center, workers' home, and truck driver service station resources, addressing the pain point of "difficulty disembarking" for crew members while also catering to the livelihood needs of truck drivers in the port area.

Ports are fundamental hub facilities and an important support for economic development. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the Dongwu Port Area of Meizhou Bay Port rose to become the largest dry bulk cargo operation port area in Fujian Province; Xiuyu Port Area was established as the largest ammonium sulfate distribution base in southern China; the advantages of the liquid chemical industry in Xiaocuo and Douwei Port Areas were continuously expanded, with Fujian Province's first public bonded crude oil warehouse and first public liquefied hydrocarbon terminal successively put into use and opened to the public.

From January to July this year, Meizhou Bay Port's iron ore throughput totaled 15.98 million tons, with the operational quality and efficiency of core dry bulk cargo steadily improving; as of August, Meizhou Bay Port's coal throughput has exceeded the 30 million ton mark, continuously unleashing the port's energy supply hub effectiveness.

Berth and channel expansion, port service quality improvement, dual efforts in hardware and software... Meizhou Bay Port is actively building a "Silk Road Maritime" hub, continuously strengthening and expanding the Southeast bulk cargo hub port.

Efficient and Smooth Land-Sea Intermodal Transport Corridor

On July 15, the Liberian foreign trade vessel "Manos" docked at berth 10 of the Dongwu operation area, carrying 76,000 tons of coal. After unloading, the coal was directly loaded onto trains and transported to Yong'an City, Sanming, Fujian Province. This is a vivid scene of the efficient operation of land-sea intermodal transport at Meizhou Bay Port.

In recent years, Meizhou Bay Port has been driven by both water-to-water transshipment and sea-rail intermodal transportation, continuously facilitating the land-sea intermodal transport channel.

Connecting the seas and linking all directions. Relying on a comprehensive collection and distribution network, Meizhou Bay Port integrates highways, pipelines, and railways to build a collection and distribution system that "connects the ocean externally and links the hinterland internally," fully leveraging the advantages of large water transport capacity and low cost.

As of now, all port areas of Meizhou Bay Port can access the highway network within 15 minutes via port access roads, continuously enhancing the port's radiation capacity and connectivity conversion level.

The hardware base has taken shape, and the expansion of cargo types on shipping routes is accelerating simultaneously—structural adjustments in transportation, such as "bulk-to-container" and "road-to-water," are being deeply promoted, with container shipping routes expanded to 12. Xiuyu Port received its first shipment of potassium chloride and resumed imports of corn and soybeans. Luoyu Operations Area has opened a maritime channel for iron ore between China and Africa. The "Putian-Xiamen" fixed container shipping route, with two weekly departures, has been established, driving the return and aggregation of local cargo sources such as Budweiser Sedrin and Giti Tire.

Leveraging the advantages of the road network and shipping routes, Meizhou Bay Port continues to promote the in-depth development of multimodal transport, proactively opening new logistics channels, expanding new cargo sources for Shangrao and Chaozhou power plants, and connecting multiple sea-rail intermodal transport routes such as "Xiaocuo to Yong'an" to the inland.

In the first half of this year, Meizhou Bay Port's water-to-water transshipment drove a throughput of 9.64 million tons; sea-rail intermodal transport drove a throughput of 7.32 million tons; and 1.87 million tons of iron ore transshipment to Taiwan were completed.

During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, Meizhou Bay Port completed a cumulative sea-rail intermodal transport of over 54 million tons and water-to-water transshipment of over 78 million tons, ranking first in Fujian Province in total volume. Its logistics hinterland has extended to inland provinces such as Jiangxi and Hunan, establishing a modern logistics network that connects mountains and seas and reaches rivers and oceans.

Shipments of goods cross the sea, and trains traverse mountains and valleys. Meizhou Bay Port not only establishes a maritime channel for economic and trade cooperation but also provides an efficient logistics foundation for the import of raw materials and the export of products for port-adjacent industries.

The momentum of industrial development in Lingang is surging

Looking out over Meizhou Bay, the LNG and gas power plant tanks and chimneys stand tall on the northern shore, while the petrochemical industrial park on the southern shore is clearly visible, gradually spreading along the coastline.

Under the "stars surrounding the moon" effect of various port areas, the port-related industries in the Meizhou Bay area are accelerating their clustering. The northern shore of Meizhou Bay is gradually forming an energy industry represented by Fujian LNG and gas power plants, as well as the SDIC Yudean Meizhou Bay Power Plant. The timber trade and processing industry is continuously expanding, and the Shimen'ao Chemical New Materials Industrial Park is taking shape. On the southern shore, a petrochemical industry chain led by United Petrochemical and Sinochem Quanzhou Petrochemical projects is gradually forming, making it a major petrochemical industry cluster in Fujian Province.

“Starting from 2023, we are fully committed to promoting the interconnection between public chemical storage areas and industrial storage areas in port zones, further enhancing the production efficiency of terminals and storage tanks, and leveraging the leading and supporting role of port logistics. As of now, the interconnection projects between China Gas and Guoheng, Fulin and Honghai, as well as State Grid and Honghai Pipeline have all been completed and put into operation, achieving annual cost savings and efficiency gains of over 100 million yuan, a 20-fold increase in efficiency, and a reduction in carbon emissions by approximately 6,000 tons, equivalent to planting over 300,000 trees,” explained the head of the Meizhou Bay Port Development Center.

Industrial clustering is accelerating, and safety production must not be relaxed for a moment.

At the dock front, law enforcement personnel hold testing equipment to inspect the loading and unloading operations of hazardous chemical vessels item by item; in the tank area, safety experts inspect pipeline valves one by one, leaving no risk point unchecked.

All along, the Meizhou Bay Port Development Center has supported high-quality development with a solid safety foundation—coordinating and deepening the three-year action plan for addressing root causes, conducting major risk and hazard investigations during flood seasons, summer vacations, and other special periods; innovating mechanisms for shared governance of hazard investigations and precise safety measures based on classification and grading, and continuously advancing comprehensive safety inspections by third-party professional organizations.

The tide rises in the southeast, and water transport flows swiftly. Meizhou Bay Port is fully committed to promoting the integration and advancement of "port, industry, and city," using the bay as a fulcrum and water transport as a link to connect both sides of the strait and bridge the hinterlands of mountains and seas, forging ahead in the journey to accelerate the construction of a strong transportation nation.

“Next, Meizhou Bay Port will follow the strategic deployment of building a strong transportation nation, benchmark against world-class port construction, and focus on innovation-driven port modernization development. It will accelerate the construction of a 'hub port, industrial port, efficient port, smart port, ecological port, safe port, cultural tourism port, integrated port, and law-based port,' creating a high-quality port with significant driving effects, comprehensive industrial services, efficient connectivity, and exemplary green safety,” said the head of the Fujian Meizhou Bay Port Development Center.