The 599-TEU MV Far East Cheer of China United Lines Limited departed from SICT directly for Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The service will call at SICT every Sunday, with a port rotation of Huangpu, Shekou, Shantou, Kaohsiung and Yantian.
The ceremony was attended by over 450 guests including Guangdong provincial and Shantou municipal government officials, as well as key executives from the port and shipping industries. Huang Zhiguang, Party Secretary of the Shantou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China; Lin Feng-cheng, Vice-Chairman of Taiwan’s Kuomintang; Chen Bo-ting, Chairman of Wanhai Lines; and Alfred Leung, Executive Director of Hutchison Ports China were the guests of honour.
Congratulating the successful commencement of cross-strait direct shipping, Ronald Wan, General Manager of SICT, commented, “The successful launch of direct cross-strait shipping helps diversify the service network of Shantou Port. The service will expand Shantou’s cargo catchment area. Now, cargo from eastern Guangdong, south-eastern Fujian and southern Jiangxi can be directly shipped to Taiwan via Shantou Port and vice versa. This will greatly reduce transit time and lower costs for shippers and consignees.”
He further added, “Through the joint efforts of the related government parties, SICT’s container throughput is rising. We are fully committed to developing Shantou Port into the leading port in eastern Guangdong.”
