The TVL Xiamen berthed at Haitian Terminal on May 22nd, officially opening a new sea route from Fujian to Taiwan. Among the ships operating on existing direct sea routes across the Taiwan-Strait, it is the first to carry Xiamen in its name.
TVL Xiamen is owned by a subsidiary of Taiwan’s TVL Business Group. The ship is 132.8 meters in length, 22.7 meters in width and capable of carrying 699 TEUs. It offers two voyages a week on a regular basis, traveling back and forth between Kaohsiung, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Kaohsiung, Keelungand Kaohsiung.
The TVL Business Group has been operating a shipping service business in Xiamen for 20 years, and they are looking to the further development of Xiamen within the Belt and Road Initiative, hoping that TVL Xiamen will become a benchmark for shipping services on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and a driver for the opening of more new routes. It is for this reason they named the vessel after Xiamen, an official of the company said on the 22nd.
The newly launched routes are mainly focused cross-Straight on transit services and cargo transportation f with ‘ocean mainline’ assisting to lift efficiency and help achieve the goal of high quality at a minimum cost. “Projects within the Belt and Road Initiative, such as the Trans-Xiarongou railway, have blazed a trail for the transportation of Taiwanese cargo to Europe, the prospect of developing further new routes is promising”, the official noted.
With these new routes, Xiamen now has 8 sea routes and about 40 flights to Taiwan, according to Port of Xiamen authorities.
China announced and implemented on May 15 a policy allowing visa-free entry of foreign tourist groups aboard cruise ships via all cruise ship ports along the country's coastline.
China and Georgia are set to waive visa requirements for travelers starting May 28.
