Ningbo Zhoushan Port in East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: nbfb0574]

Ningbo Zhoushan Port in East China's Zhejiang province handled 1.25 billion metric tons of cargo in 2022, topping the global rankings for the 14th straight year, statistics from Ningbo Zhoushan Port Group show.

The port's container throughput volume reached 33.35 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the past year and was ranked third globally.

Last year, the port launched 13 international shipping routes, bringing the total number of container routes it has opened to 300, including 120 bound for countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Over the same period, it handled more than 1.45 million TEUs via the sea-rail combined transport model. The amount was second highest among domestic ports and represented a year-on-year uptick of over 20 percent. The sea-rail combined transport model refers to the mechanism where goods are first loaded onto trains to Ningbo Zhoushan Port before being transported overseas by sea, and vice versa.

As of the end of 2022, the port's sea-rail combined transport business has covered 63 prefecture-level cities in 16 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions across the nation since its inception in 2009.

Stable growth was seen in the throughput of commodities like iron ore, coal, grain, liquefied oil products, and vehicles. About 460,000 cars were handled at Ningbo Zhoushan Port via roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) ships last year, up 23.2 percent year-on-year.