Shanxi's first heavy cargo wharf, built and operated by Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Group (THMG), was put into service on December 29 at the port of Tianjin, where the company's first batch of whole product was shipped out through the Bohai Gulf to Zhanjiang in South China's Guangdong province.

With a ship channel that can handle cargo of 30,000 tons, the wharf is the largest terminal in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

THMG decided to build a wharf of its own due to the bottleneck problem of assembly and transportation of mega products that hampers the development of inland enterprises.

Sponsored by Binhai Heavy Machinery Corporation, a subsidiary of THMG, the construction at the wharf's periphery started on November 15, 2009, at the second dock of Dagu Port along the 1,000-meter coastline. The wharf's construction was launched on August 1, 2013.

The wharf's first mission included a 350-ton tilting device for a converter, a 520-ton metallurgical crane and dry quenching equipment. The shipping of the tilting device, which weighs 160 tons per piece, marks the first of its kind to be transported by sea throughout the country. As a new method, it is different from transporting by land, which would be not only risky but also inefficient as the 5.3-meter high and 6.7-meter wide device would have to be disintegrated before delivery and reassembled after its arrival at the final destination.

Zhang Zhide, vice-chairman and general manager of THMG, spoke highly of the only sea wharf operated by Shanxi, with four loading berths that could harbor 50,000-ton ships and a shipment berth for 100,000-ton ships. The wharf will help with the shipping of its products to major destinations across the world, and help inland enterprises go global.

According to Zhang Meng, coordinator of the port, the handling of heavy cargo features the application of a hoisting crane that can lift goods as heavy as 1,400 tons. It has been proven to be far more stable, easy and cost-efficient than a floating crane.

Edited by Michael Thai