On March 16, with the Singapore-flagged vessel "Tian Lu" slowly departing from the Jiangyin Sunan International Container Terminal, direct shipping between Jiangyin and Antwerp, Belgium, was realized. This also marked the official launch of the first new foreign trade shipping route of the Jiangyin Port in 2026.
The "Tian Lu" has an overall length of 189.99 meters, a width of 28.5 meters, and weighs approximately 40,000 tons. It docked on March 14 and, after three days of loading and unloading operations, departed on March 16. For its maiden voyage, the vessel carried a total of 365 special containers, heading directly to the core European trade hub of the Port of Antwerp, achieving "point-to-point" direct access between the hinterland of the Yangtze River Delta and the European market. The launch of this route breaks away from traditional transshipment models, significantly reducing transit times and saving enterprises 20%-30% on port operation costs.
As a major European international trade hub, the Port of Antwerp radiates across the entire European continent, while the Jiangyin Port is a core foreign trade port in the Yangtze River Delta. The launch of this direct route has achieved precise connectivity between the two ports, which is of great significance for enhancing the international competitiveness of Jiangyin Port and deepening regional opening-up.
It is understood that the maiden voyage primarily transported over 2,300 tons of high-value-added goods, including high-end equipment and precision instruments, focusing on serving China-Europe special cargo trade. The route will be operated regularly going forward, providing efficient logistics support for foreign trade in industries such as machinery, automobiles, and electronics, and helping "Intelligent Manufacturing in China" go global efficiently.
To ensure the smooth progress of the maiden voyage, the Jiangyin Port has comprehensively optimized its ship inspection procedures, enhanced the level of cross-border trade facilitation, and achieved "operations upon docking and zero-delay departure" for vessels, safeguarding the new route with efficient services.
Currently, the Jiangyin Port has successively launched direct foreign trade trunk lines to Portugal, Chile, Cambodia, and other countries. In 2025, the port's total cargo throughput reached 380 million tons. As the only specialized container terminal in the Wuxi area and a national Class I port, the container throughput of the Jiangyin Sunan International Container Terminal successfully exceeded 670,000 TEUs. In January of this year, it achieved a "good start" with a throughput of over 60,000 TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 9.18%, helping to accelerate regional economic development.
As a major shipping hub in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the launch of this new route is a key measure for the company to improve its global shipping network and deepen its "river-sea intermodal transport" layout. Going forward, the Jiangyin Port will further expand its reach to Europe and Africa, promoting the high-quality development of two-way trade.
The English version is for reference only. If there are differences between the English version and the Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail.
https://www.jiangyin.gov.cn/doc/2026/03/20/1385915.shtml
Source：www.jiangyin.gov.cn
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