Tangshan Maritime Implements Three Reform Measures to Energize "Container" Power

Recently, the Tangshan Maritime Bureau, focusing on water safety supervision and port service functions, has introduced three reform measures: dual-dock berthing, tandem berthing with hot connection, and priority waiting areas for container ships. These measures aim to achieve faster container entry and exit, lower costs, and genuinely help enterprises save money and improve efficiency.

It is understood that the waiting time for ships and berth turnover efficiency have become key indicators for determining container logistics costs and measuring the core competitiveness of ports. Under traditional navigation and operation modes, the anchoring rate of container ships in port areas is as high as 74%, with an average waiting time of 18.3 hours per ship. The sequential operation mode of "one berth, one ship, departing first and berthing later" takes an average of 5.2 hours per ship for berth switching, resulting in low berth utilization and significant pressure on liner punctuality, making it difficult to meet loading demands under new circumstances.

To address industry challenges, the Tangshan Maritime Bureau has led the formation of a joint task force comprising "maritime authorities, port dispatch, terminal enterprises, shipping companies, and research institutions." They have issued detailed navigation safety guidelines covering 25 control elements, including ship type combinations, captain qualifications, meteorological and sea conditions, and cargo categories, and conducted phased real-ship trial operations for validation. Adhering to the principle of "one ship, one policy," they flexibly choose between "dual-dock berthing" or "tandem berthing with hot connection" operation modes to precisely match on-site conditions. To date, they have completed 3 "dual-dock berthing" operations and 17 "tandem berthing with hot connection" operations, with smooth navigation and ship maneuvering throughout. The priority waiting area has been operating well, forming a new collaborative work pattern of "efficient waiting outside the port and flexible berthing inside the port."

According to reports, the relevant research results have passed comprehensive evaluations by industry experts, confirming that the port area's water depth, shoreline, harbor basin, and tugboat facilities are fully compatible with the regular operations of the three new modes. The Tangshan Maritime Bureau has leveraged its functional advantages to simplify procedural review processes, incorporate the three modes into daily port scheduling, and simultaneously improve specialized emergency plans to further strengthen safety control measures.

"For every hour of reduced ship waiting time, logistics costs drop significantly," said a representative from Hebei Port Group. This set of measures ensures ships no longer idle at anchorages and terminals are no longer left empty, effectively improving container shipping efficiency.

Next, the Tangshan Maritime Bureau will continue to promote the full transformation of research results into port production efficiency. Based on the coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and the integrated layout of Bohai Rim ports, they will continuously enhance the precision and convenience of maritime services, providing safe and efficient water supervision services to support the high-quality development of the regional container shipping center.