Xinmingzhou 66 departed from Damaiyu Port in Taizhou, Zhejiang province, on Aug 22, carrying products including solar panels, plastic items, and aluminum alloy wheel hubs. It is expected to arrive at Nagoya Port in Japan in five days.

This voyage is the first along the recently-launched direct shipping route from Damaiyu Port to Kanto area in Japan. The port now operates a total of 18 domestic and international shipping routes.

"With this direct connection, Taizhou companies can now export goods to Japan without shipping to ports in Ningbo or Shanghai, resulting in a 10 percent reduction in transportation costs per container on average," said Chen Shuwei, general manager of Zhejiang Damaiyu Port Co.

The previous route to Japan, opened in 2023, includes stops at five ports in the country, but this new route allows direct access to the Kanto area, streamlining logistics and enhancing efficiency.

The direct shipping route is currently operating on a bi-weekly schedule, with plans to increase frequency based on cargo demand.

Damaiyu Port has significantly improved its route transportation and container capacity supply. In the first half of the year, the port handled 289,400 twenty-foot equivalent units, with estimates suggesting that the total container throughput could reach 550,000 TEUs by year-end.