The Huayu Sea 9 vessel departed from Shandong Port Group's (SPG) Bohai Bay Port in the Weifang Port area on March 7, heading towards Luzhou Port in Sichuan province. This journey marks the launch of the river-ocean intermodal train service model by SPG's "Yangtze River Bus - Forward Warehouse".

The vessel loaded with calcined petroleum coke at Bohai Bay Port, Shandong Port Group, is ready to sail to Luzhou Port in Sichuan province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Loaded with 5,000 metric tons of calcined petroleum coke, the vessel is bound for the mouth of the Yangtze River. After stopping at Jiangyin Port and Chongqing Port for two transshipments, it will finally reach Sichuan.

This shipment of calcined petroleum coke is the first supply chain business venture by the Bohai Bay Port Group for petroleum coke trade in the Yangtze River.

In response to strategic adjustments in 2023, SPG created of a top-notch comprehensive supply chain service system based at the ports.

By 2024, together with sister units, Bohai Bay Port will set up a trade "forward warehouse" in Shuifu Port and Luzhou Port upstream on the Yangtze River. This initiative will offer services such as trade, electronic warehouse receipts, pledged financing and complete logistics distribution to regions like Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. Such actions will help to fully unleash the potential of Bohai Bay Port as a central hub for petroleum coke distribution.

The Yangtze River Economic Belt plays a vital role in attracting lithium battery manufacturers for the new energy vehicle industry, resulting in high demand for petroleum coke, a key material for battery anodes. Bohai Bay Port connects with the supply chain market in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, facilitating the development of its petroleum coke "forward warehouse" service products.