Morning Laura, a ro-ro cargo ship packed with 430 vehicles from Qatar, arrived in Haikou on Feb 16 after a 16-day voyage and then berthed at Xiuying Port, marking the first vessel to bring parallel imported cars to Hainan Pilot Free Trade Zone.
After the ship's berth at the port, officials from customs and maritime affairs, as well as border guards in Haikou began their inspection and quarantine procedures of the ship. After efficient completion of the procedures, the vehicles were unloaded in only seven hours.
This is the first time that Haikou Port has officially imported vehicles through foreign trade by ro-ro ships since it officially opened a vehicle import port in 2015. Ro-ro ship transportation, compared with container shipping, has a lower cost and is more efficient.
Ro-ro ship Morning Laura arrives at Xiuying Port in Haikou on Feb 16. [Photo/Xinhua]
Ro-ro ship Morning Laura berths at Xiuying Port in Haikou on Feb 16.[Photo/Xinhua]
A Toyota SUV imported from Qatar is unloaded from the ship at Haikou's Xiuying Port on Feb 16. [Photo/Xinhua]