The "Maersk Kotka" docks at the Vado Gateway Terminal in Italy, the first overseas equity investment project of Qingdao Port, on Feb 12. [Photo/WeChat account: qdgjt2016]

The Vado Gateway Terminal in Italy, the first overseas equity investment project of Qingdao Port, officially started operating as "Maersk Kotka", a container ship sailing under the flag of Liberia, docked there on Feb 12.

The new terminal is the first semi-automatic port in Italy and the most advanced container terminal in the country. It is equipped with five quay cranes and 21 transtainers and features high levels of automation. Its annual throughput is designed to be 900,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units).

Four managers and technicians from Qingdao Port have been dispatched to train more operators and help manage the terminal.

The ship  has a maximum loading capacity of 6,418 TEUs and sails through the Mediterranean region to the Middle East and India. It is estimated that the ship transports around 2,500 TEUs per trip and will dock at the Vado Gateway Terminal once a week.

Qingdao Port plans to further promote the Belt and Road Initiative and use this project as an opportunity to strengthen its international operations. It aims to become a world-class port in logistics, trade, city-industry integration, tourism, and green development.