Shekou Port – A Brief Introduction
Shekou and Shekou Port can be found at the Southern tip of the Nanshan District in Shenzen, China. The name of the town literally means ‘snake’s mouth’ due to its location at the tip of the Nantou peninsula, at the mouth of the Pearl River. We’re taking a closer look at Shenkou and how it fits into China’s shipping industry.
The Port History
Shekou was originally a small fishing village with an old port in the early 1980s. The area of Shekou was previously a customs station of Bao’an County, and in January 1979 it officially became known as the Shekou Industrial Zone, which was developed before the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. Soon after the establishment of the Shekou Industrial Zone, infrastructure grew at a rapid pace and the town was quickly developed into an export-orientated trade zone. The town also saw lots of foreign oil companies coming in as the local government did their best to attract companies to build oil rigs in the South China Sea. Over the years, Shekou port has grown apace and developed into the bustling commercial hub we know it to be today.
Shekou Container Port
The Shekou container port is part of the larger port complex of Shenzhen port. It is one of the major fruit import cities in the South of China and the port is also a part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road which runs from the Chinese coast to the Mediterranean sea, via the Suez Canal.
Shekou Cruise Center
This new cruise centre replaced the old Shekou Port Ferry Terminal, and offers regular ferry services to and from Macau, Hong Kong and Zhuhai as well as allowing cruise ships to doc at this port. This new ferry terminal was designed by French architect, Denis Laming, and is triangular in shape and features one 228,000-gt berth and one 120,000-gt berth, along with twelve 800-gt berths. With its mega-berth, Shekou Cruise Homeport is the only Chinese homeport capable of docking Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class ships, which is one of the largest passenger vessels in the world.
As China works to come back from the damage and disruption caused by COVID-19, we look forward to what the future holds for Shekou Port and Shenzhen port as a whole. The prime location of this port seems to ensure a certain future with only more growth and development on the horizon.
If you are looking for underwater maintnance services in Shekou Port China, contact us today to discuss your requirements