Shandong Port Group or SPG – one of the world's biggest ports operators, based in Qingdao city in East China's Shandong province – ushered in 2022 with a number of outstanding production achievements during the three-day New Year's Day holiday.

On Jan 1, five 8,000-TEU-plus container vessels were handled simultaneously at the Qingdao Qianwan Container Terminal in Qingdao Port, a performance which saw several records set.

Elsewhere, at Qingdao Port's Dagang port area, its five berths were crammed with coal freight ships and other bulk carriers, with its handling volumes undertaken by a single shift that completed its work ahead of schedule.

Also on Jan 1, the Rizhao Port Oil Company witnessed the initial departure of a train bound for Sichuan province, marking the opening of a new destination for its crude oil railway transport for its crude oil shipments.

Meanwhile, to expand its southwestern market, the company has joined forces with sister company Shandong Port International Trade Group Co Ltd. It brought in 55,000 tons of products at the port during the break and delivered them through its rail transport system. This is widely said to have boosted the internal business integration of SPG.

On the first day of 2022, Yantai Port had nearly 100 vessels calling in at its berths, handling over 1 million tons of cargo. The carrier Pacific Prosperity – carrying 390,000 tons of iron ore – docked at the world's first fully automatic terminal for dry bulk cargo. In so doing, it became the first 400,000 DWT ore carrier that arrived at the port in 2022.

During the three-day break, Binzhou Port handled nine vessels and 119,060 tons of cargo, up 9.7 percent year-on-year. Furthermore, the Guangli port area of Dongying Port handled 12 vessels, with its cargo volume and container volumes reaching 68,000 tons and 926 TEUs, respectively, up 4.3 percent and 35.98 percent.