File photo: Courtesy of Shangdong Port Group

 
A single crane at Port of Qingdao under Shandong Port Group in East China's Shandong has set a new world record for the 26th time, by handling 3,057 tons per ton of dry bulk cargo with the support of automation technology, the port said on Monday. 

The record was set on Sunday, with iron ore being offloaded from a 400,000-ton dry bulk tanker at a rate of 3,057 tons per hour. The total handling efficiency reached 12,228 tons per hour, which is also a world record, according to a statement by the Port of Qingdao, noting the deployment of automated technology has significantly improved loading and offloading efficiency.

The automated system, which belongs to a 400,000-ton berth, includes four off loaders with capacity to handle 3,500 tons of cargoes per hour, remote control center, and automated equipment inspection and conveyor belt assistance.

The port said it has accommodated 329 400,000-ton vessels and saved over 2.5 billion yuan ($345 million) on logistics costs.

The port has been building itself into a transit port for dry bulk cargo, and has been handling shipments from global mining giants including Brazil's Vale, Australia's BHP, FMG and Rio Tinto.

Ports under Shandong Port Group account of roughly one fourth of China's annual iron ore throughput.

China is the world's largest importer of iron ore despite imports of iron ore falling by 1.5 percent year-on-year to 1.11 billion tons in 2022.

In the January-May period, China imported 480 million tons of iron ore, up 7.7 percent, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.