The berthing of the container freighter M.V. Arnold Maersk at Guangzhou's Nansha Port on Sept 16 marks the opening of the first container line from the city to the east coast of the United States.

The container line is also the first direct ship route between the west coast of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the east coast of the United States.

Twelve container freighters with a cargo capacity of 8,200 to 8,500 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) have been put into operation on the route. The ships will stop at Nansha Port every Monday, and arrive at the Port of Newark in America in 32 days and the Port of Charleston in 37 days.

Guangzhou Port has been the largest comprehensive main hub port and container trunk port in southern China. By the end of August, Guangzhou Port Group added six new container lines, bringing the total number to 154, of which 109 are for foreign countries.

The container freighter M.V. Arnold Maersk berths at Guangzhou's Nansha Port on Sept 16. [Photo by Ye Weibao/dayoo.com]