The whistle pierced through the sea and sky, and a moving mine slowly approached the shore. From the hinterland of West Africa to the other side of the ocean, this transoceanic supply chain closely connects foreign mineral veins with Eastern industries. When Weili Hongxin steadily entered the berth, Yantai Port once again relied on its strong core strength to serve as a hub for the circulation of bulk commodities.

Record breaking berthing of a giant ship

Recently, the Weili Hongxin ship carrying 320000 tons of Guinea bauxite docked at the West Port Area of Yantai Port in Shandong Province. Yantai Port broke the global record for single ship unloading of bauxite for the fourth time. The port has received and unloaded 82 300000 ton bauxite ore carriers in total. The China Africa super large ore carrier transportation project has been running smoothly, consolidating the position of the first port in China Africa trade, and helping the construction of dual cycle hubs and high-quality development of the the Belt and Road. The Weili Hongxin ship has completed all unloading operations, once again breaking the single ship unloading record for bauxite in the port.

The ship is the first of its kind in the Weili International Sirius series, built by CSSC Beihai Shipbuilding, and will make its first call at Yantai Port after delivery in June. The vessel is equipped with methanol fuel tanks, certified for methanol preparation, and has significantly optimized energy consumption indicators. It is a green and ultra large mineral sand ship responsible for the ocean transportation of Guinea bauxite and Simandou iron ore, creating a demonstration for low-carbon mineral supply chain.

Green ship type shows advantages

This berthing demonstrates the construction strength of Shandong Port's bulk cargo transshipment base. The record of bauxite unloading in Yantai Port has been iterated multiple times, from 262800 tons in 2019 to 293800 tons in 2021, and then refreshed again to 294400 tons. Relying on the advantages of automated terminals, large berths, and multimodal transportation, Yantai Port is strengthening its main business of dry bulk cargo, continuously improving its professional terminal service capabilities, attracting large mining ships to dock, and promoting high-quality development of the port. During the operation of the Weili Hongxin ship, Yantai Port formulated a special plan and used the world's first automated control technology for dry bulk cargo terminals to compress the vessel's port stay time. The hourly unloading rate was 3083 tons, and the day and night unloading capacity was 74007 tons. The goods were transferred by a second leg ship to be transported by water, and the efficient service was recognized by the cooperating party.

Channel empowers the industrial chain

This assignment aims to promote the upgrading and expansion of the China Africa logistics golden channel. As a domestic origin port, Yantai Port operates the Guinea Bokai and Jinbo Port areas, with a cumulative ore output of over 520 million tons, accounting for more than half of Guinea's bauxite exports and occupying a core position in the global bauxite supply chain. Keywords: Yantai, shipping, the Belt and Road

From January to August 2026, the throughput of bauxite at Yantai Port will exceed 100 million tons, ensuring stable supply of raw materials for the domestic aluminum industry. Relying on the two-way logistics channel between China and Africa, Yantai Port's annual throughput of bauxite has exceeded 100 million tons, ranking as the world's top port for bauxite imports for 15 consecutive years. In 2026, the freight volume of China Africa general cargo liner will exceed 6 million tons for the first time, helping China's manufacturing industry to go global.Editor/Gong Ziwei