China`s biggest deepwater Port of Dongjiakou installs traffic service

CHINA`s largest deepwater port, Dongjiakou Harbour, which is under construction in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, will cooperate with Shandong Provincial Maritime Affairs Bureau to establish a vessel traffic service (VTS), reports Xinhua.

VTS is a marine traffic monitoring system using advanced sensors such as radar, closed-circuit television, and radiotelephony to keep track of vessel movement in a limited geographical area to improve the safety and efficiency of navigation.


Despite three radar stations and a VTS centre that have operated in Qingdao Port since 2006, the current service has failed to cover some water areas in and around Dongjiakou Harbour, according to the local authorities.


Qingdao Port consists of four areas including Qingdao old port area, Huangdao oil port, Qianwan new port area and the Dongjiakou harbour area. Dongjiakou Harbour covers an area of about 70 square kilometres and is designed for 112 berths with a frontage of 35.7 kilometres.


Construction at Dongjiakou Harbour area started in May 2009. The annual capacity of the port is expected to reach more than 310 million tonnes by 2020.