Over the last 20 years or so, China has become a hub of trade and economic growth, solidifying itself as a world economic superpower, boasting the world’s largest economy, in addition to leading as a manufacturer and trader of merchandise. It should come as no surprise then, that of the 10 largest ports in the world based on cargo traffic, 7 belong to the economic giant. Measured in TEU’s (twenty-foot equivalent units), which are the size of a standard shipping container, each of the world’s largest ports handled thousands, sometimes millions, each year.
- China: Port of Shanghai
Taking over as biggest port in the world in 2010 from the Port of Singapore, the Port of Shanghai has continued to expand. In 2016 alone, it grew by 1.6%, handling over 37 million TEU’s. Situated in the Yangtze River area, it comprises of both a river and a seaport. This port makes up a quarter of the country’s foreign trade and has 125 berths. - Singapore: Port of Singapore
The port is connected around the world to 600 other ports and has 58 berths already built. While the Port of Singapore had a slow start to 2016, with less cargo travelling through, it still handled over 30 million TEU’s. What’s more, a $3.5 billion upgrade is in the works to increase port capacity to 50 million TEU’s, promote environmental sustainability, and install cutting edge port technology. - China: Port of Shenzhen
Located in the Guandong Province in China, and is comprised of a number of smaller ports. Last year China planned to introduce a low sulfur requirement for the port – making it illegal for ships to use fuels with more than 0.50%. This will reduce the emissions that come from the fuel, which can lead to asthma or cancer. The port itself handled a little over 24 million TEU’s in 2014. - China: Port of Hong Kong
This port handled 22 million TEU’s in 2014. On the Kowloon Peninsula near the South China Sea, the port began construction in 1970, and ships to over 500 ports globally. It houses almost 800 government vessels and has 24 berths. While not quite at the scale of Shanghai or Singapore, the port looks after around 90% of Hong Kong’s total cargo and uses incredibly high tech tracking and navigational tools. - China: Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan
Originally two separate port companies; Ningbo Port Co. and Zhoushan Port Co., in 2015 the two officially merged into one. If measured in cargo-tonnage, Ningbo-Zhoushan would be the busiest in the world, as it handled 873 million tons of cargo in 2014. As it is, the port is the third busiest in China, and 5th in the world, handling almost 20 million TEU’s in 2014. The Ningbo side handled most containers in the port in 2014, with just 3% handled by Zhoushan, however, Zhoushan appears to be growing.
These ports can take up thousands of square kilometres, and handle unfathomable amounts of cargo, and yet, somehow, keep everything running smoothly day-to-day on a literally massive scale. While the ports set massive goals for TEU’s every year, some suggest that growth in these Chinese super-ports may be beginning to slow. And noting their massive expansion in only the last 40 years, perhaps the next 40 will see the creation or expansion of even bigger feats of organisation and engineering.
Morgaine Auton 