China's Tianjin opens new container shipping route to Europe

TIANJIN, April 6 (Xinhua) -- HMM, a leading shipping company in the Republic of Korea, on Thursday opened a new direct container shipping route linking north China's Tianjin Port with major European ports.

HMM will put 12 24,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) ultra-large container ships into weekly operation, the company said.

The shipping route will connect Tianjin with major European ports, including Algeciras in Spain, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Hamburg in Germany and Antwerp in Belgium.

The maritime route aims to offer convenient and efficient shipping services for exports of China-made mechanical and electrical equipment and daily necessities.

Lee Joo-myung, chairman of HMM (China) Co., Ltd., said that China-made products such as machines, auto parts and furniture can reach Europe faster on this route, with the shipping time cut by nearly 15 percent, thus saving logistics costs for customers.

Tianjin Port is a major port in north China. Its container throughput exceeded 21 million TEUs last year, ranking eighth globally.