Shanghai port experienced strong growth in the number of ship arrivals and departures in the first two months of2011, according to a report by Xinhua.

Yangshan deepwater terminal recorded 1,517 cargo and passenger ships arriving at and leaving in the year up to 28 February, an increase of 25.2 per cent year-on-year. Waigaoqiao handled 3,680 vessels in the same period, up 25.7 per cent.

According to the article, Yangshan has been included in the port rotations of a number of new lines connecting China with North America, the Persian Gulf, Mediterranean and Southeast Asia since the start of this year. Twenty
new ships started their maiden voyage from Yangshan in February alone, many of them being post-panamax vessels of more than 100,000 tonnes.