One of the world's largest container ships, MSC NELA, with a remarkable container fleet capacity of 200,000 metric tons, docks at Xiamen Songyu Container Terminal March 31. [Photo/CNR] 

MSC NELA, one of the world's largest container ships, which has a remarkable container fleet capacity of 200,000 metric tons, docked at Xiamen Songyu Container Terminal March 31. 

Its arrival at the port run by Xiamen Port Holding Group helped boost the resumption of industrial production and business operations of the Silk Road Maritime project. 

There are few ports that are able to hold mega vessels, which demand great water depth, strong vessel management ability, large loading capacity, and excellent coordinating backup mechanisms. 

The maritime sector in Xiamen made full preparations to increase loading and unloading speeds, reduce logistics costs, simplify administrative processes, and strengthen the COVID-19 prevention and control measures to help promote the normal operations of the Silk Road Maritime Road project.

According to statistics, the Port of Xiamen received three state-of-the-art and  world's largest container ships in March, which were MSC MINA, MSC SAMAR and MSC NELA, bringing in container throughput of more than 10,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), which has greatly accelerated the resumption of trade with countries and regions along the Belt and Road.

Statistics also showed that the container throughput of the Silk Road Maritime Road project totaled 124,900 TEUs in the first three weeks of March, an increase of 112.8 percent compared to February.

The Silk Road Maritime Road project, launched by Fujian province Dec 12, 2018, had opened 50 routes providing nearly 1,625 shipping services by the end of 2019. More than 100 companies involved in ports, shipping, logistics, trade and manufacturing have joined the project.