The launch ceremony of Maersk NV2, a new Maritime Silk Road route, at Songyu Container Terminal of Xiamen Port, eastern Fujian province, July 15. [Photo/xmnn.cn]

A new Maritime Silk Road route – Maersk NV2 -- was officially launched at Songyu Container Terminal of Xiamen Port, eastern Fujian province, on July 15.

The international transshipment route connects the port with Southeast Asia.

Statistics show that Xiamen Port's international transshipment business volume increased from 368,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in 2016 to 649,000 TEUs in 2018. In the first half of this year, the international transshipment business volume reached 513,000 TEUs, an increase of 83.2 percent year-on-year.

The new route can efficiently transfer heavy containers from Southeast Asian countries to the west coast of the United States via Xiamen Port, according to a spokesman of the port.

"Xiamen Port's world-class facilities, as well as the continuously optimized service level, were important considerations for Maersk, a Fortune 500 company and one of the world's largest container shipping companies, in opening the new route," said the spokesman.

Maersk has been operating in Xiamen for nearly 30 years. In 2005, Maersk and Xiamen Port jointly established the Songyu Container Terminal.

Every week, Maersk has 14 routes linked to Xiamen Port, which handled 1.2 million TEUs last year. It is expected to reach 1.3 million TEUs this year, according to an official of Maersk.