"Lianyungang-Ho Chi Minh" Point-to-Point Direct Foreign Trade Shipping Route Launched

On September 22, with the sound of a long whistle, the "Yungang Star" ship owned by Jiangsu Lianyungang Port set sail, fully loaded with containers, slowly departing from berth 27 towards southern Vietnam. This marked the maiden voyage of the "Lianyungang-Ho Chi Minh" point-to-point direct foreign trade shipping route, not only achieving a breakthrough for Lianyungang Port's own ships in foreign trade routes but also successfully establishing a "new link" connecting the Maritime Silk Road and the Land Silk Road.

The long-distance voyage of the "Yungang Star" ship is an important milestone in the transformation of Lianyungang Port's own shipping platform—Jiangsu Yuzhou Shipping—from domestic trade shipping to foreign trade routes. It is also a vivid practice of Lianyungang Port deepening the construction of the "Belt and Road" intersection and promoting the organic connection between the Maritime Silk Road and the Land Silk Road.

On the maritime side, this route directly connects the core area of southern Vietnam, serving as an important node of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. On the land side, through Lianyungang Port's stable China-Europe (Asia) train network, it can connect westward via the New Eurasian Land Bridge to Kazakhstan, Russia, and even Europe. This single route establishes a comprehensive land-sea logistics corridor linking "maritime Southeast Asia and land-based Central Asia and Europe."

Moreover, leveraging Lianyungang Port's unique advantages in sea-river intermodal transport and sea-rail intermodal transport, this route can connect cities in the northern Jiangsu hinterland such as Huai'an, Xuzhou, and Suqian, achieving a "one-container-through" multimodal transport service model. Goods loaded into containers at the point of origin can reach their destination directly via sea-rail intermodal transport or sea-river intermodal transport without the need for unpacking and repacking midway. Compared to traditional transshipment routes, this route takes only 8 days, significantly reducing logistics time while providing cabin services in the Haiphong direction. This not only enriches the port's "sea transport + train" multimodal transport product system but also offers efficient and stable cross-border maritime transport guarantees for regional enterprises to seize China-Vietnam trade opportunities.

"As Lianyungang Port's long-term self-owned shipping platform specializing in domestic coastal and sea-river container transport, Yuzhou Shipping has completed high-standard modifications to convert the 'Yungang Star' ship from domestic trade to foreign trade, tailored to the needs of foreign trade routes. It has also coordinated the allocation of foreign trade containers, precisely matching the capacity requirements of the China-Vietnam cross-border freight market. In terms of operational models, Yuzhou Shipping has partnered with Vietnam Hai An Shipping for cabin exchange cooperation, establishing a collaborative mechanism to jointly manage cabin allocation and overseas terminal connections, ensuring the regular operation of the route," said Wang Qiang, General Manager of Jiangsu Yuzhou Shipping Co., Ltd.

In the future, Lianyungang Port will continue to deepen its presence in the Southeast Asian market, strengthen route operation management, and establish a dynamic monitoring mechanism for freight rates and costs. At the same time, it will further explore the potential of hinterland cargo sources, deepen collaborative partnerships with overseas partners, and focus on enhancing end-to-end logistics service capabilities such as "single document system" and "one-container-through," contributing to the high-quality construction of the "Belt and Road."