Yantian International Container Terminal sets a new national record for single-vessel container handling during the National Day holiday.
During the National Day holiday period, port operations at Shenzhen's Yantian International Container Terminal (YICT) maintained peak efficiency without interruption. Having already broken its single-vessel handling record in July of this year, YICT surpassed that benchmark once again on October 2, when the Gemini Cooperation AE1 Europe service vessel 'New Hamburg Express' completed a 28,684 TEU loading and unloading operation - setting a new YICT single-vessel record and simultaneously establishing a new national record for single-vessel container handling across all Chinese ports.
The 'New Hamburg Express', operating on the Gemini Cooperation AE1 Europe service, measures nearly 400 metres in length and belongs to the 24,000 TEU class of ultra-large container vessels - among the largest in the world. The vessel berthed at YICT at 08:20 on September 29. The operation coincided with one of the busiest periods in the annual port calendar, spanning the final days of September through the National Day holiday. Confronted with the concentrated handling demand of nearly 29,000 TEU, YICT coordinated quay cranes, yard resources, and horizontal transport assets across the terminal, deploying a maximum of nine quay cranes simultaneously to execute the operation and deliver a final tally of 28,684 TEU.
This marks the second occasion in 2025 that YICT has broken its own single-vessel handling record. On July 20, the Gemini Cooperation AE11 service vessel 'Eleonora Maersk' established the previous benchmark at 25,872 TEU. In just over two months, the 'New Hamburg Express' surpassed that figure by more than 2,800 TEU - and in doing so, rewrote the record for single-vessel container handling across all Chinese ports.
Behind the steady climb in single-vessel throughput lies YICT's continuously expanding global route network and the sustained growth in international logistics demand that it serves. The terminal currently operates more than 100 weekly global services, 53 of which connect to APEC member economies. In the current year alone, YICT has added 14 new services linking to APEC economies. This deepening network of connections provides an accelerating pathway for import and export cargo to reach global markets - while simultaneously raising the bar for the terminal's capacity to receive ultra-large vessels, allocate resources with precision, and deliver end-to-end operational reliability.
The breaking of this record is not merely a measure of YICT's capacity to handle ultra-large container vessels; it is a validation of the terminal's production organization, cross-functional coordination, and the indispensable support of port authority partners. Spanning the National Day holiday, the operation was underpinned by the steadfast presence of Customs, Maritime Safety Administration, and Border Inspection personnel, whose continued service ensured the smooth berthing and departure of international vessels, the efficient clearance of import and export cargo, and the uninterrupted progress of port operations throughout the period.
From the continued expansion of its global route network to the efficient handling of the world's largest container vessels, to the precise coordination between terminal operations and port authority functions, YICT has demonstrated during the National Day holiday that operational excellence and strategic connectivity are not in tension - they are mutually reinforcing. In maintaining this standard, the terminal continues to stabilize and strengthen the global industrial and supply chains that pass through its berths.
