A vessel fully loaded with 400,000 tons of iron ore berthed at the Caofeidian Port Area in Tangshan City, north China's Hebei Province on Sunday, marking the first time a port in the Bohai Bay has gained the ability to accommodate the direct docking of fully-loaded vessels of this size.
With a length of 360 meters and a fully loaded draft of 23 meters, the "Yuan Jian Hai" vessel safely passed through a deep-water route and smoothly berthed at the ore terminal of Caofeidian Port Area with the assistance of nine tugboats.
The Caofeidian Port Area in Tangshan Port boasts the only natural deep-water coastline in the Bohai Bay, featuring a non-freezing, non-silting sea area with a water depth of minus 25 meters at the wharf. This makes it the most suitable location in the bay for building large deep-water berths.
In 2015, the port area received national approval for building two 400,000-ton ore berths, becoming one of the first ports in China capable of handling 400,000-ton vessels.
However, for a long period, due to insufficient knowledge of the shallowest water depths and tidal patterns along the conventional route in the central Bohai Sea, 400,000-ton vessels could only dock with reduced loads, preventing the berths from operating at full capacity.
"To solve this critical bottleneck, Hebei maritime authorities, together with multiple departments, dedicated eight years of effort to the research and development of a tide-dependent navigation support system, conducting live tests with fully loaded vessels, and carrying out bathymetric surveys along the entire route. There was no navigable path at sea until we discovered a deep-water route linking the Laotieshan Waterway with the Caofeidian Port Area. This route has now been successfully incorporated into the national coastal public waterway network, ensuring the regular berthing of fully loaded 400,000-ton vessels," said Niu Yang, director of the Caofeidian Marine Bureau.
To further enhance operational efficiency, the Caofeidian Port Area is accelerating the third-phase expansion of its ore terminal.
The project will extend the berth line by 120 meters eastward, bringing the total berth length to 910 meters.
Upon completion, the port area will be capable of handling simultaneous berthing and loading operations for two 400,000-ton vessels, increasing its designed annual throughput capacity from 35 million tons to 37 million tons.
Caofeidian Port capable of handling direct docking of 400,000-ton fully-loaded vessels
