On June 17, the cargo ship OOCL Atlanta departed from the Yangpu International Container Terminal, marking the official launch of a direct shipping route between Yangpu and India (the Yangpu–India CI1 Route). This new route opens a new chapter for efficient, two-way China-India trade.

The ship sets sail from Yangpu Port. (Photo: Hainan Port & Shipping Holding Co., Ltd.)

The opening of this new route is a key step for the Yangpu International Container Terminal in setting up a fully connected east-west, north-south shipping network. Yangpu has now opened a total of 24 direct foreign trade routes to Southeast Asia and the RCEP region, including four new routes to ASEAN countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia which opened in 2025, setting up a dense route network covering all 10 ASEAN countries and South Asia.

The direct international trade Yangpu—India CI1 Route has officially opened. (Photo: Hainan Port & Shipping Holding Co., Ltd.)

The direct Yangpu—India shipping route not only expands Yangpu’s shipping network to encompass the two major shipping hubs of India and Sri Lanka, but also improves the international shipping network of the Hainan Free Trade Port and creates a more convenient logistics channel for economic and trade exchanges between Hainan and South Asia. In the future, thanks to the ‘domestic and international trade via the same ship’ model, this route is expected to become an important channel which enables China's northern export goods to reach the South Asian market efficiently.

Currently, the Yangpu Regional International Container Hub Port Expansion Project (Phase I) is already in operation, raising the port’s berth capacity to 200,000 tons and annual throughput capacity to 3.6 million TEUs. Going forward, with the new India route serving as a fulcrum, the Yangpu International Container Terminal plans to continue to deepen cooperation with major Indian ports, provide efficient and convenient shipping services for Chinese and Indian trading companies, and further develop as a "bidirectional trade hub port."