A 1,500-ton barge, named "Qiaoyang the First", set sail on the morning of September 4 from Zhongshan Port to Yantian Port in Shenzhen. In addition to containers packed with foreign trade cargo, the ship also carried some containers brimming with domestic trade cargo. It marks the official launch of the "Shenzhen-Zhongshan Co-Shipping Freight Bus" business.

According to Li Xueliang, deputy director of Customs Supervision Division III of Zhongshan Port, in the past, traditional small ships were not able to transport containers for both domestic and foreign trade at the same time. As a result, shipping companies were only able to arrange multiple ships to carry these two kinds of goods separately. These conditions lead to a lower space utilization rate and longer turnover times. These restrictions greatly reduced cargo transit speeds.

To address these tough issues, Gongbei Customs actively promotes the supervision mode of transportation of containers on a same vessel for both domestic and foreign trade. This service has now taken the lead by launching the "Shenzhen-Zhongshan Freight Bus for Both Domestic and Foreign Trade". This venture has been taken on in the Zhongshan Customs District jointly by the Zhongshan People's Government and Zhongshan's domestic and foreign shipping companies. Under the new, more effective customs supervision, Gongbei Customs has effectively increased the full loading rate of barges, reduced the loading and unloading frequency of wharves, and promoted shipping efficiency.

"In the past, goods for domestic and foreign trade were transported separately, so we had to arrange 2 barges to transport goods to both types of locations. Now we only need one barge, which reduces customers' costs, sailing time, port congestion, while enhancing the economic efficiency and core market competitiveness of barge companies like us," said the Zhongshan Port Shipping Terminal's supervisor.