China's first independently designed and developed container ship MSC IRINA makes its maiden trip at Qingdao Port on March 22. [Photo/WeChat account: Shandong-Port]

China's first independently designed and developed container ship MSC IRINA made its maiden trip at Qingdao Port on March 22.   

The container ship was developed by Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group, which is based in Jingjiang, Jiangsu province, and boasts full independent intellectual property rights. Measuring 399.99 meters in length and 61.3 meters in width, it has a maximum carrying capacity of 24,346 20-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, and is currently the world's largest container ship.

Managed by Shandong Port Group (SPG), Qingdao Port has optimized its existing working procedures and carried out a slew of measures to ensure the smooth operation of the entry and exit of the ship.

In recent years, Qingdao Port has worked hard to optimize its business environment. As the largest port in North China, the port has leveraged its advantages brought by the integration reform of SPG, and made continuous efforts to improve its service efficiency, with more than 400 container ships choosing to dock at the port. It has become the first port of choice for super large container ships in Northeast Asia.

The fully automated container terminal at Qingdao Port is the first of its kind in Asia. [Photo/shandong.gov.cn]