XIAMEN, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The world's largest containerships, MSC Isabella and MSC Mia, called the port of Xiamen, east China's Fujian Province, on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

It was the sister ships' first visit to the port.

MSC Isabella is a new ship to join the "Silk Road Shipping," an alliance jointly initiated in late 2018 by dozens of ports, carriers and logistics service providers in countries along the Belt and Road (B&R).

Running at its highest capacity, the Songyu Container Terminal of Xiamen will load and unload nearly 3,000 containers in 16 hours for the MSC Isabella. The ship will carry goods including cloths, electronic products, seafood and daily necessities to Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Oman and Morocco, according to sources at the port.

Each of the two ships has a capacity of 23,756 TEUs, with a total carrying capacity of 224,900 tonnes.

Xiamen is an important port for the Belt and Road Initiative. In 2019, around 70 vessels en route to B&R countries stopped by Xiamen each week. However, the number dropped sharply in February due to the unexpected outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

According to the Xiamen Port Holding Group Co., Ltd., the two vessels' stop-by indicates a recovery of the transport on Silk Road Shipping routes via Xiamen.

Statistics show that 82 vessels en route to B&R countries stopped by the Xiamen harbor in the first two weeks of March, with a total volume of 87,200 TEUs, a month-on-month increase of 74.5 percent and 134.8 percent, respectively. Enditem.

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