On 18 March 2005, COSCO's "Dong He" called at YICT, marking the official shift of the China-Persian Gulf (CPG) service, operated by COSCO and Evergreen, from Chiwan to Yantian.
To cope with the ever-increasing requirements of customers and markets, YICT has continuously enhanced and upgraded its customer service standards. With all four berths of Phase III in operation since last September, giving YICT nine container berths in total, the vessel operational rate has been increased by approximately 80%.
YICT has been committed to improving key operational processes and secured some impressive achievements. During the four months since last November, YICT's quay crane rate has been running at 35 moves per hour, which surpasses the world’s average quay crane rate of 25 to 27 moves per hour.
In July 2004, Shenzhen Customs officially re-launched the seaport Customs Reform at Yantian Port. To support the terminal's dramatic growth, the Port administration departments, including Customs, Frontier Inspection, Inspection and Quarantine and Maritime Safety Administration, have implemented relevant reform measures to streamline and increase declaration efficiency at Yantian.
With the strong support of the government, YICT has co-operated with the relevant departments and the public to upgrade traffic network around the port. Huge investment and human resources have been injected. As a result, traffic conditions at Yantian Port have been substantially improved. Truck circulation both in and out of the port has remained smooth.
With its numerous advantages, YICT has been chosen by many shipping lines as a key port of call for their mega-vessels. YICT received 22 mega-vessels of 8,000-plus TEU in the first two months this year.
CPG made its maiden call at Yantian on 29 January 2002, then was diverted to Chiwan on 14 May 2003. The present service berths at Yantian every Tuesday with calls at Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Hong Kong, Yantian, Singapore, Tanjung Pelepas, Dubai, Dammam and Karachi.