China’s Sprawling Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Sets New Record of 1.4 Billion Tons
The massive port complex in China’s central region is reporting a new record, claiming to be the first port worldwide to have handled a record 1.4 billion tons of cargo ranging from containers to dry bulk. Officials highlight that the port is expected to have maintained its position for the 17th consecutive year as the busiest overall port complex in terms of annual cargo throughput.
The Ningbo-Zhoushan port, they highlight, has grown rapidly, moving up four places in the ranking of global ports. It is now seventh in the ranking of global ports and continues its rapid expansion. Based on containers, the port is the third busiest in the world, having handled 43 million TEU in 2025. Shanghai remains the world’s busiest container port, having handled over 50 million TEU in the first 11 months of 2025, and is expected to surpass its record of 53 million TEU. Singapore rivals the Chinese ports, currently also handling more than 40 million TEU each year.
Officials for Ningo-Zhoushan acknowledge that they achieved these results despite a challenging year. They highlighted slowing global maritime trade growth, a complex and volatile geopolitical landscape, and uncertainties in trade policies and tariffs. The port has seen growth in its trade routes today, serving 309 routes that connect more than 700 ports in more than 200 countries. This has helped to offset some of the fluctuations and uncertainties, especially in U.S. trade.
While the complex is known as one port, they note it has two cores and twenty zones. A complex Master Plan for the entire complex is helping to guide expansion, while they have accelerated construction of new facilities. In the recently completed year, they were expecting to complete the construction of five large-scale container berths with a capacity of 10 million TEU and three large-scale bulk cargo berths with a capacity of 100 million tons.
China’s Ministry of Transport had reported that the country’s container and cargo throughput continued to grow. In the first 11 months, they said container throughput was up 6.6 percent to a total of 324.7 million TEU, while overall cargo throughput was up 4.4 percent to about 16.8 billion tonnes.
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Contributing to the growth were key projects at Ningbo-Zhoushan. This included expanding the ore terminal so that it would be able to simultaneously handle the berthing and unberthing of two 400,000-ton ore carriers. The Tiaozhoumen Waterway is also being expanded and, as of the end of the year, has entered the dual-channel era. The capacity for ultra-large ships has been increased by 50 percent and making it simpler to navigate in all weather conditions.
They highlight that the port is already bunkering more than 250,000 cubic meters of LNG, making it among the top three ports nationwide, and with plans for rapid growth to meet demand. The port complex plans to continue its expansion programs as well as increase operating efficiency.