Port of Tianjin

The Port of Tianjin (Tianjin Gang, Chinese: 天津港; pinyin: tiānjīn gǎng),formerly known as the Port of Tanggu, is the largest port in Northern China and the main maritime gateway to Beijing. It is located on the western shore of the Bohai Bay, centered on the estuary of the Haihe River, 170 km south east of Beijing and 60 km east of Tianjin city. It is the largest man-made port in mainland China,^[6] and one of the largest in the world. It covers 107 square kilometers of land surface, with over 31.9 km of quay shoreline and 140 production berths at the end of 2010.^[7]

Tianjin Port handled 413 million tonnes of cargo and 10.1 million TEU of containers in 2010,^[8] making it the fourth largest port by throughput tonnage in the planet, and the eleventh in container throughput. This makes it the third largest port in China, behind the merged Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan and the Port of Shanghai, and sixth in container throughput.^[9] The port trades with more than 600 ports in 180 countries and territories around the world.^[2] It is served by over 115 regular container lines.^[10] run by 60 liner companies, including all the top 20 liners. Capacity is increasing at a high rate, with 550-600 Mt of throughput capacity expected by 2015.

The port is part of the Binhai New Area district of Tianjin Municipality, the main special economic zone of Northern China, and it lies directly east of the [Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area|TEDA]]. The Port of Tianjin is at the core of the ambitious development program of the Binhai New Area, and due to this developmental storm, change occurs at a very accelerated pace. The name "Tianjin Xingang"(Chinese: 天津新港; pinyin: tiānjīn xīngǎng; literally "Tianjin New Port"), which strictly speaking refers only to the main seaport area, is sometimes used to refer to the whole port.

Geography and Geophysical Setting

Location

The Port of Tianjin is located on the coast of Tianjin Municipality, in the former county of Tanggu, on the coast between the estuaries of the Haihe to the south and the New Yongding River to the north. To the west, the Port borders the city of Tanggu (now the Urban Core of the Binhai New Area) and the TEDA. To the east, the port opens up to the Bohai Bay.

The Bohai Bay is one of the three bays that compose the Bohai Sea. The Bohai Sea is a fairly shallow (average depth 18 m), semi-enclosed water body, with relatively poor water exchange into the Yellow Sea (it can take 40 to 200 years for complete water turnaround^[11]), The enormous sediment runoff from the Yellow River and Haihe makes it a very silty water body.^[12]

The coastal area of Tianjin municipality was dominated by mudflats, salt marshes (and salterns), and coastal shallows. This littoral zone is wide and slopes gently: the 0 m isobath (the intertidal flats) extends to 3-8 km from shore at a slope of 0.71-1.28%, the -5 m isobath extends 14-18 km from shore, and the -10 m isobath reaches 22-36 km from shore. These features make deep water navigation dependent on extensive dredging, but it also means that land reclamation is a cost-effective option for construction. Tianjin Port is thus by necessity largely man-made through dredging and reclamation.

Soil geology: As it is largely built on man-made surfaces, Tianjin Port’s engineering geology is fairly regular:

1. A layer of artificial fill from +4.6 m to +2.0 m of elevation. On older parts of the Port, this layer was placed by jetting dredged material, which made the dredged silty clay finer. More recent construction uses the vacuum preloading method, which results in better compacted surfaces.
2. A layer of marine deposits of silt and silty clay interspersed with sand, of recent date (~800 years BP). It is around 15 m thick, highly waterlogged, and considered a risk to liquefy during an earthquake.
3. A layer of alluvial deposit of the Pleistocene estuary delta. This is mostly cohesive soil (silty clay) and silty sand, horizontally stratified. At −21 m there is a dense layer of fine sand which provides good support for piles and foundations.^[13] Bedrock is not reached at engineering depths (shallowest seams are 350-450 m^[14])

Seismological Conditions: The area of Tianjin is very seismically active. The 1976 Tangshan earthquake affected the harbor and caused serious damage to its installations.^[13] The Port’s current design specifications are to resist earthquakes of intensity 7, to a basic design earthquake acceleration of 0.15 g.

Meteorological and Hydrological Conditions

Climate: Tianjin Port is at the northern limit of the continental monsoon climate area, specifically it belongs to the temperate semi-humid continental climate type (Köppen Dwa), with a short rainy season in the summer, large seasonal differences in temperature, and large variation in weather year to year. Annual average temperature is 12.3℃. The hottest months are July and August (maximum temperature recorded was 39.9℃ on July 24, 1955), and the coldest is January (minimum temperature recorded was -18.3℃ on January 17, 1953). The average relative humidity is 65%, with a maximum of 100% recorded in the summers, and a minimum of 3% recorded in winters.

Precipitation and Storms Average annual precipitation is 602.9 mm, with rainfall concentrated on the rainy months of July and August. Maximum recorded annual rainfall was in 1964 (1083.5 mm), and minimum recorded annual rainfall was in 1968 (278.4 mm). The maximum single day precipitation recorded occurred on July 30, 1975 (191.5 mm). The average number of thunderstorms is 27.5 per year, mostly breaking out in June and July. Due to its shallowness and narrowness, the Tianjin coast is prone to storm surges: since 1860 there has been 30 storm surges, around once every 4 years, most recently in 2003, 2009 and 2011. Of the nine serious surges in the last hundred years, five were caused by typhoons (the Bohai Bay is at the northernmost range of the Pacific typhoon corridor), and four by winter cyclones.^[15]

Winds: Average annual wind velocity is 4.43 m/s; Easterly winds have the fastest average velocity, averaging 6.51 m/s. Strongest (steady) wind recorded was a WNW blowing at 33 m/s, on January 3, 1986.^[16] Winds over category 7 are observed 1-7% of the year. Predominant winds are:

• Spring: SW
• Summer: SE
• Autumn: SW
• Winter: NW

Fog: Fog or haze is present in around one third of the year, particularly during winter. Of these hazy days, there is an average of 16.5 fog days per year with visibility of less than one kilometer (a visibility level that triggers severe restriction of traffic in the port), The foggiest year on record was 1972, with 26 days; foggiest month was January 1973 with 12 days.^[17] Like other regions in the North China Plain, Tianjin Port is prone to pollution haze. This haze can be a navigational problem when combined with foggy conditions.^[18]

Tides: Tanggu has a mixed semidiurnal tide. The lunitidal interval is 45 min, the average duration of rise is 5 h40 m, and the average duration of fall is 6 h53 m.^[19] The daily inequality between low waters is particularly marked.^[20] Average tide heights at the Tanggu Oceanic Station (塘沽海洋站) are:^{[note 1]}

• Mean Sea Level: 2.56 m
• Mean High Water (MHW): 3.74 m
• Mean Higher High Water (MHHW – Admiralty Datum): 3.7 m
• Mean Lower High Water (MLHW – Admiralty Datum): 3.6 m
• Mean Low Water (MLW): 1.34 m
• Mean Higher Low Water (MHLW – Admiralty Datum): 1.7 m
• Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW – Admiralty Datum): 0.7 m
• Mean Tidal Range: 2.47 m
• Mean Tidal Range Springs: 3.5 m (NGA approximation)
• Mean Tidal Range Neaps: 2 m (NGA approximation)
• Maximum High Tide Recorded: 5.83 m（September 1992）
• Minimum Low Tide Recorded: -1.08 m (December 18 1957)
• Maximum Tidal Range Recorded: 4.37 m (October 26 1980)

The design water levels for port facilities are:^[23]

• Design high water level: 4.30 m
• Design low water level: 0.50 m
• Extreme high water level: 5.88 m
• Extreme low water level: -1.29 m

Tidal currents: Flood tide at the Dagukou Anchorage flows northwest (average bearing 292), average speed of 0.8 knots, and maximum 1.9 knots. Ebbing tide flows to the southeast (130 average bearing average), average speed of 0.7 knots, and maximum 1 knot. Tide currents within breakwaters are parallel to the channel and have a maximum speed of 0.64 knots.^[24]

Waves: The western Bohai Bay is a relatively calm body of water. The frequency of waves below 1.0 m height is 87.6%, of waves of height above 1.0 m is 12.4%, waves above 2.0 m 1.9% and waves above 3.0 m is 0.4%.^[25] The proportion of pure wind waves is 74.2%, of pure swell waves is 0.9%, and of mixed swell/wind is 24.9%. Predominant wave directions are NNE-E (9.68% frequency) and ENE-E 9.53% S 9.27%, SSE 8.91% and SE 8.30%.^[26] Waves are strongest in spring and weakest in fall. Summers are very calm, unless typhoons wander off far enough north. Strongest average waves are ENE and NNW waves.^[27]

Icing: Ice cover in the Bohai Bay is highest in February. Shore icing extends an average of 500 m, with an average thickness of 10-25 cm, maximum of 40 cm. Drift ice extends 15-20 nm, roughly to the 10-15 m isobath. Average drift ice thickness is around 5 cm, thickness is 20–25 cm. Ice flow rates are SE-NW, at an average speed of 30 cm/s, maximum of 100 cm/s.^[28] Icing is a regular problem for the Haihe riverine port area, and requires continuous clearing.^[29] Icing is not normally a navigational hazard at the seaport, except on extremely severe winters like the 2009-2010 winter (the severest in over 30 years). Seasonal buoyage change is necessary.

Sedimentation: Silting was long considered an insurmountable obstacle to deep-water navigation at Tanggu. However, the extensive hydraulic work of the last decades, in particular the damming of the Haihe, has reduced silting to manageable levels, reducing average estuary water sediment from 0.75 kg/m³ to 0.1 kg/m^3[25][30]

Pollution: Severe eutrophication caused by polluted runoff has made red tides in the Bohai Bay common. Combined with overfishing, this has put pressure on once-abundant fish stocks. Biological pollution is also a problem, with illegal ballast water discharges creating a strong danger of invasive exotic species.^[31] Habitat destruction caused by reclamation has damaged coastal wetlands, intertidal flats and shallow water hatcheries essential for many fish and bird species.^[32]

History

Haihe River Ports

The lower course and estuary of the Haihe is the main stem of a large navigable basin, as well as the westernmost seashore of the North China Plain, making it an obvious location for a major navigational hub. The history of the Haihe ports shows a pattern of oscillation between inland and marine waterways, with routes changing according to political and natural changes.

First records of port activity date from the late Eastern Han Dynasty, when Cao Cao built two canals connecting the Haihe to support his campaigns against the Wuhuan. It was, however, only after the completion of the first Grand Canal by Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty that the lower Haihe gained importance as a logistics hub, transporting southern grain to the army outposts of northeast China. The same military necessity caused the Tang to establish the Sanhui Harbor (Chinese: 三会港口; pinyin: sānhuìgǎngkǒu; literally "Triple Confluence Harbor") as a both a fluvial hub and seaport at the confluence of the Yongji Canal (永濟渠), the Hutuo River (滹沱河) and the Luhe River (潞河), on modern day Junliancheng (Chinese: 军粮成; pinyin: jūnliángchéng; literally "army rations town"), a fact still preserved in the town’s name.^[33] Sanhui Harbor served as a forward logistics base for the Tang’s campaigns against the Khitans and Goguryeo, with coastal ships and canal barges transporting 500,000 dan of grain each year. ^[34]

In 960, the Haihe was set as the border between the Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty. The Haihe port became divided: the Song port was Nigu Harbor (泥沽海口) to the south of the Haihe, and the Liao port was in Junliancheng，to the north. In 1043, the Yellow River had one of its frequent cataclysmic course changes, and took over the course of the Haihe until 1194. In that 150 years span, the enormous runoff of silt from the "Flowing Mud" caused a major change in the coastline. The shoreline, which at the time was roughly at Junliangcheng, moved forward around 23 km to the present day line of Tanggu, Beitang and Gaoshaling. This lead to the decline of Junliangcheng, and a new main port was established further upriver at Zhigu (直沽, now Tianjin).

In 1153, the Jin Dynasty moved its capital to Zhongdu (now Beijing). The massive needs of the capital city made Zhigu a critical grain hub, moving up to 1.7 million dan of grain per year. ^[35] The Mongol conquest made this trade even more necessary when, in 1264, the Yuan Dynasty established its capital at Dadu, also on the site of modern Beijing.

Feeding the enormous needs of Dadu was the spur for the creation of regular sea-going routes to complement the inland waterways, which (despite much [[Grand Canal # expansion were reaching their limit capacity. Sea routes connecting Liujiagang in Zhejiang province and Zhigu’s Yangcun (杨村) wharf were established in 1276 (the Tang coast-hugging route, taking 120 days to complete), and in 1282 (a route taking 30 days to complete). A breakthrough occurred in 1293, when a third sea route was opened that took a more direct open-sea path from Liujiagang to Yangcun, going eastwards from the Yangtze mouth into the “Black Water Ocean” (the deepest section of the Yellow Sea), turning at the tip of the Shandong peninsula around Chengshan, entering the Bohai Sea through the Miaodao Strait, and then going directly from Laizhou into the Haihe mouth. This route required more complex navigation, but it took less than ten days to sail, and it is in essence the route still used today for shipping between Shanghai and Tianjin. To assist this burgeoning sea trade, in 1318 the first recorded aid to navigation in the region was established in the Longwangmiao temple at the Haihe mouth. During daytime, white cloth flags were raised on high poles. At night, lamps were lit and raised to guide approaching boats.

The Ming and later the Qing were sporadically hostile to sea trade, which resulted in the policy of "Sea Ban" applying on and off for centuries. This policy varied from reinforcing defenses against pirates up to fully depopulating the coastline. Therefore, the focus of trade between river and sea routes oscillated wildly.

The port of Zhigu, was renamed "Tianjin" ("Ford of the Emperor") in 1400 by the Yongle Emperor to commemorate a victorious forced river crossing. Yongle's move of the imperial capital back to Beijing in 1405 renewed Tianjin’s importance as a grain hub. The port moved 4 million dan of grain per year, a number that remained fairly consistent during Ming and Qing times.

In 1679 the Kangxi Emperor lifted the prohibition against ocean fishing that had held for a century, re-population of the coast resulted in the founding of many fishing villages, including modern Dagu, Beitang and Tanggu, the modest beginnings of the current Xingang area. In 1684, the Emperor ended 30 years of “sea ban”, and seagoing trade resumed.

Development of the Haihe Estuary Port

With the increasing presence of Western powers in East Asia, the importance of maritime access to Beijing grew. In 1816, the Taku Forts were rebuilt to protect the access to the Haihe estuary at Tanggu. The Forts became a critical battleground during the Second Opium War. In the aftermath of the war, the 1860 Treaty of Tianjin opened up Tianjin to foreign trade and established the first Foreign Concessions in Tianjin. While the main trade port was located in the Concessions at Zichulin (紫竹林), right next to Tianjin city, the British also opened the first modern wharf at Tanggu (the "Little Wharf" at Lanjingdao, nowadays the Huanqiu Shipyard). Tanggu remained a critical strategic point, and Li Hongzhang established the Taku Dockyard and fostered the extension of the Kaiping Tramway to Dagu -later the Jingtang (Beijing-Tanggu) railway.

The Boxer Rebellion once more saw a critical battle fought for the Taku Forts. After the capture of Beijing by the Eight Nation Alliance, the Qing Court was forced to sign the Boxer Protocol, which further increased the size of the Concessions (now including nine countries), and granted the foreign occupation of Tanggu. This lead to significant development of the Tanggu port by all the various foreign powers. Wharves by British, German, Japanese and American companies were built (mostly on the northern shore of the Haihe), and by 1940, Tanggu had 56 berths amounting to 6090 m of quayside^[36]

Establishment of Tanggu Xingang

The history of the Tanggu Xingang seaport (later the Tianjin Xingang port) started during the Japanese occupation of China. In 1938, the Japanese occupation forces decided that the existing river ports in Tianjin and Tanggu were insufficient to meet their needs for transportation to and from North China. The Haihe was troublesome both due to silting and winter icing, and the Taku Bar allowed passage only to very shallow vessels, so the decision was made to expand capacity by building a seaport outside of the Haihe estuary. After an exploratory and planning period, construction work started in 25 October 1940. In October 1941, the Tanggu New Port Harbor Bureau was set up.^[37]

The original Japanese plan called for laying down a 30 km breakwater; dredging a 13.4 km, 200 m wide shipping channel; building a shiplock at the entrance of the Haihe; and establishing three wharves with 12 berths, for a projected throughput of 27 Mt. The plan was expected to be completed by 1947. Work slowed down as the war started to go wrong for Japan, and resources (in particular, coal) became more and more scarce. By the time of Japan’s surrender in 1945, the project was less than half-way completed: the shipping channel had been two-thirds dredged, breakwaters extended 11 km, only one terminal with 700 m of quayside had been completed, and a second terminal and the barge terminal were almost completed. The Shiplock was 85% complete, 11 km of railways had been laid down, and the ship dock (now the Xingang Shipyard) had been established.^[37]

The First Marine Division landed at Tanggu on 30 September 1945 ^[38] and accepted the Japanese surrender of Tianjin on 6 October 1945, before transferring control back to the Nationalist government. The Kuomintang authorities restarted the incomplete works, and reopened the port. But as the Chinese Civil War raged, resources dried up and disorder in the running of the port grew. Lack of resources, combat damage, and finally demolitions by the retreating Nationalist forces left the Tanggu New Port damaged and silted into unusability.

The Communists captured Tanggu on 17 September 1949, but restoring the port online was a slow process. On 15 September 1950, the Tianjin Port Bureau of the Department of Transportation was officially established to provide the first unified management of the ports in the Tianjin region. On 24 August 1951, the ports at Tanggu were reorganized again into the "Tanggu New Port" (塘沽新港), and work started on re-dredging the navigation channel and rehabilitating four sea piers. On 17 October 1952, the Port reopened for traffic. At the time, the main channel was dredged to 6 m depth, could handle ships of up to 7,000 DWT and had an annual throughput of only 800,000 tonnes -less than 1/500 of present capacity.^[39]

In the next decades, port expansion was slow. By 1956, throughput had reached 10 million tons, and it remained roughly at that level for the next two decades.^[40] Even then, however, Tanggu Xingang was a pioneer of port development in the People's Republic of China: in September 1973, Tianjin Port successfully opened up the first international container ship route in China. A slow period of expansion continued, with the characteristic four piers of Beijiang being built in the late 1970 s. In 1980, Tianjin Port established the first dedicated container terminal in China.

Reform and Opening

The export boom that followed the post-1979 Reform and Opening period put enormous pressure on the rickety infrastructure of the Chinese ports. Congestion became serious enough to force reform by the central government: in June 1, 1984, the Port of Tianjin was transferred from direct control of the Ministry of Communications to a "dual" system of shared central and local control.

This devolution entailed transferring line operations, human resources and financial responsibility to the municipal government of Tianjin, while the ministry of transport retained strategic planning and coordination duties. On 19 July 1984, the Tianjin Port Bureau of the Department of Transportation was renamed the Tianjin Port Authority (天津港务局, TPA). Critically, this new port authority was given a degree of relative financial autonomy (a policy called "以收抵支、以港养港” pinyin: yǐ shōu dǐ zhī, yǐ gǎng yǎng gǎng; literally "with income above expenditures, the port nurtures the port"), in essence allowing the port to finance expansion from retained earnings.^[41]

Despite this partial liberalization, growth was very slow in the early 80's. The port was bedeviled by both land and capital shortages, until it became a relatively early recipient of World Bank infrastructure development loans, which financed the modernization and expansion of several wharves.^[42] With progressive commercial success and increasing access to capital, the Port started to expand fast in both size and capacity.

Production then increased in leaps and bounds. In 1988 throughput passed the 20 million ton milestone, and in the ten years from 1993, annual throughput growth averaged 10 million tonnes every year. In December 2001, the Port was the first port in North China to reach the 100 million tonnes mark,^[40] in 2004 it reached 200 million tonnes, in 2007 300 million tonnes and in 2010 400 million tonnes. The container handling capacity of the port increased from 0.4 million TEU in 1992, to 2.4 million TEU in 2002, 7.1 million TEU in 2007, and more than 10 million TEU in 2010.

The structure of the Port also changed. In 1992, Tianjin Port Storage and Transportation Company was made into a joint stock company under the full ownership of the Tianjin Port Bureau. In 1996, it would be converted into the Tianjin Port Holdings Company (TPC) and listed in the Shanghai stock market. In 1997, Tianjin Development Holdings, which owned the container handling assets of the Port, was listed in Hong Kong. Its port assets were later spun out as the Tianjin Port Development Company (TPD) and listed in the Hong Kong exchange in 2006.

In 2001, as part of the widespread reform of all of China’s SOEs, the State Council passed guidelines requiring the separation of state administration and operation in all ports, by transforming the various Port Authorities into corporations. In 2003, the Port Law was passed to regulate China’s ports operation as fully commercial enterprises. The law permitted for the first time foreign ownership of port operators.^[43]

The TPA delayed corporatization in order to steer the passing of the 11^th five year development plan for the port.^[44] The transition was completed on 3 June 2004, when the TPA became the last major Port Authority in China to become a corporation: the Tianjin Port (Group) Company (天津港（集团）有限公司, or TPG by its English acronym).^[45]

The financial tsunami of 2008 hit Chinese ports particularly hard, as they depended heavily on foreign trade flows. The Tianjin Port did better than average due to its diversification: while container business plummeted, bulk trade (in particular iron ore) remained strong. Nevertheless, the crisis hit profits hard, and it convinced the Tianjin government to reorganize and streamline the structure of the Port, which they did in 2009 by having TPD (the smaller operator, but one with access to foreign capital markets) take over TPC. Simultaneously, ownership of TPD was transferred from Tianjin Development Holdings (a subsidiary of the Tianjin Ministry of Commerce) to TPG. By the time the merger was concluded, on 4 February 2010, all operations in the Tianjin Port had been consolidated under TPG.

Port Layout

Tianjin Port is divided into nine port areas: the three core (“Tianjin Xingang”) areas of Beijiang, Nanjiang, and Dongjiang around the Xingang fairway;^[46] the Haihe area along the river; the Beitang port area around the Beitangkou estuary; the Dagukou port area in the estuary of the Haihe River; and three areas under construction (Hanggu, Gaoshaling, Nangang).

Existing Port Areas

Beijiang Port Area (Chinese: 北疆港区; pinyin: běijiāng gǎngqū; literally "Northern Border Port Area") includes the original areas of the Tanggu New Port, plus new facilities built on reclaimed land north of the Main Basin. It covers approximately 36.8 km², has 18.9 km of coastline, and contains mostly container and general cargo terminals. It is also the main service and administration area of the port, including the Tianjin Port Container Logistics Center, the Tianjin Port Trade and Shipping Service Area, and the 7 km² Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone.

Nanjiang Port Area Chinese: 南疆港区; pinyin: nánjiāng gǎngqū; literally "Southern Border Port Area" lies on an artificial island 16 km long (east to west) by 1.3–2 km wide (north to south), with an area of approximately 26 km². Shoreline is 14.2 km long on the north side(opening to the Main Channel), and 12 km on the south side (opening to the Dagusha Channel). This port area contains the bulk cargo terminals, in particular the large oil, ore and coal terminals.

Dongjiang Port Area (Chinese: 东疆港区; pinyin: dōngjiāng gǎngqū; literally "East Border Port Area") lies on an artificial peninsula 10 km long and 3 km wide to the northeast of the main basin, and has an approximate area of 33 km². This is the newest part of Tianjin Xingang, and is still in development. It includes a new container terminal, a regional logistics center, and a 10 km² bonded port area (the Dongjiang Bonded Port).

The Dongjiang Port Area is being developed into a comprehensive complex with three parallel zones: the terminal area; a logistic processing zone associated with the bonded port; and a comprehensive service zone which will include office space, residential space, and shopping and leisure facilities. The leisure area will be centered on the cruiser terminal and yachting piers, and around an artificial beach (the Dongjiang Bay Scenic Area), built with sand imported from Fujian and including a variety of entertainment facilities (including a dragon boat pier).

The Haihe Port Area (Chinese: 海河港区; pinyin: hǎihé gǎngqū) operates all riverine docks from the Xingang Shipping Lock up to the Haihe Second Tidal Barrier, a distance of 39.5 km. Once the core of the Tanggu port, the lower Haihe river area has seen diminishing number of wharves as riverfront real estate is reassigned for development. In 2003, the Haihe Port Area had 7,100 m of quayside, 83 berths, 56 production berths dealing with all sorts of cargo including containers.^[47] The start of the work on the new Tanggu CBD meant the demolition of most facilities in the Xiangguowan, Yujiapu and Lanjingdao peninsulas, including the large Third Stevedoring Company terminal in Gongzhuangzi, which closed in 2009.

Nevertheless, industrial expansion further up the river will likely lead to a recovery in the number of available berths. Current plans call for six different production areas, with an area of 9.7 km², a quayside length of 21 km, and a total of 70 berths of 5,000-3,000 DWT capacity, for a total throughput of 2.42 million tonnes.^[48]

The Beitang Port Area (Chinese: 北塘港区; pinyin: běitáng gǎngqū) lies on both sides of the Beitangkou estuary. At present it is limited to several small barge wharves, but it is planned to expand as part of the development of the Binhai Tourism Area. There are two wharves planned, 230 m and 150 m in length, to serve general cargo and passenger ships. The Beitang Fishing Harbor is directly north, inside river estuary.

The Dagukou Port Area (Chinese: 大沽口港区; pinyin: dàgūkǒu gǎngqū) lies on the southern side of the Haihe river mouth. It is composed of the wharves of the Tianjin Lingang Harbor Economic Zone (Chinese: 天津临港经济区; pinyin: tiānjīn língǎng jīngjìqū), which is a large industrial area being constructed on reclaimed land. The Dagukou port area is expanding fast, and it is expected to reach a capacity of 100 Mt per year by 2015. Further up the Haihe estuary is the Donggu Fishing Port, which still moors 400 (mostly small) fishing boats.^[49]

Port Areas under Development

The last three areas (Gaoshaling, Nangang, Hangu) are under construction, and will be integrated into Port operations as they come online.^[50]

Hangu Port Area (Chinese: 汉沽港区港区; pinyin: hàngū gǎngqū) comprises the Tianjin Central Fishing Port (天津中心渔港), which is located at Caijiabao (蔡家堡) to the north of Beitang. The Central Fishing Port is a large (18 km2) mixed development that gathers tourist facilities, a yachting marina, a fishing port with 17 berths capable of handling ships up to 5,000 DWT for a throughput of 17 million tonnes,^[51] and cold-chain warehousing. It is expected to go into full operation in 2012.

Gaoshaling Port Area (Chinese: 高沙岭港区; pinyin: gāoshālǐng gǎngqū) is located on reclaimed land to the south of the Lingang Industrial Area and north of the Duliujian (独流减) river. It includes the docks of the southern section of the Lingang Economic Area, and will have its own channel. Gaoshaling area will focus on heavy equipment handling and other heavy industrial cargo.^[52] The

Nangang Port Area (Chinese: 大沽口港区; pinyin: nángǎng gǎngqū) is being built on the reclaimed land of the TEDA Nangang Industrial Zone (天津开发区南港工业区), south of the Duliujian river. It will focus at first on petrochemical goods. The first trial wharf opened in 2011.

Shipping Channel and Fairway

The Tianjin Xingang Fairway is divided into the Main Shipping Channel, the Chuanzhadong Channel, and the Northern Branch Channel. The Dagusha Channel and the Haihe river channel are separate fairways with slightly different regulations.

1. The Main shipping channel (新港主航道) is 39.5 km long. The channel extends from the gate line of the VTS control area (20 nautical miles (37 km) from the VTS control tower), up to the start of the Chuanzhadong Channel.^{[note 2]} Since November 2010, the Main Channel has been dredged to a depth of -19.5 m, and a bottom width of 420 m, making it capable of handling two-way 250,000 DWT traffic, and to accept 300,000 DWT ships at high tide. There are two service channels (100 m wide and 9 m deep) at each side of the main channel, which allow ships under 10,000 DWT (i.e. service craft, barges and coastal ships) to transit without interference from the big ships. The breakwater mouth was expanded to 1100 m wide in 2010.^[53]
2. The Chuanzhadong channel(船闸东航道), called "Chuanzha channel" in Admiralty charts, starts roughly at the level of the Second Pier up to the Xingang Shipping Lock, a total of around 4.5 km. Its depth varies between 10 m to 5 m as it approaches the shiplock.
3. The Northern Harbor Branch Channel (北港支航道) extends from its bifurcation from the main channel up to the northern end of the basin, approximately 8.5 km. It has been dredged all the way to the end of the basin (where the Huicheng terminal lies) to a depth of 15 m. Its junction with the Main Channel was widened to 765 m in 2007 to facilitate traffic merging.

The Dagusha Channel (大沽沙航道) is wholly separate from the Main Channel. It is 27.5 km long from safe water（12 m isobath) to end of fairway. It was upgraded in December 2010 to a depth of 12.3 m, 180 m wide, for a one-way traffic capacity of 100,000 DWT (in high tide). Current dredging is expanding the Channel to 230 m bottom width and 14 m depth, which will allow all-tide traffic of 100,000 DWT vessels.^[54] The long-term plan is to dredge the Channel up to a two-way 200,000 DWT capability.

The Haihe River Channel varies in depth between 4 m to 8 m with a minimum bottom width of 60 m, and it can handle vessels of up to 5,000 DWT in the section between the Xingang Shiplock and the Haimen Bridge, and up to 3,000 DWT from the Haimen Bridge to the Second Tidal Barrier.

The Beitangkou Chanel (北塘口航道) is at present a shallow-water buoyed channel capable of handling barges, fishing boats and service vessel only. It is currently being dredged.

Three other channels (the Central Fishing Port Channel, the Gaoshaling Channel and the Dagang Channel) will be expanded and integrated into the Port fairway as these port zones become integrated into the greater Tianjin Port in the near future.^[55] The Dagang Channel was activated on July 2011 on a trial basis. At present it extends 19 km^[56] and is dredged to a 5,000 DWT capacity (100 m wide, 6.5 m deep). According to plans, it will reach 100,000 DWT capacity by as early as 2015.^[57] The Gaoshaling Channel is currently being dredged to 12.5 m depth, 150 m wide, for a planned capacity of 50,000 DWT in 2015.

A number of secondary channels have been set up and seamarked by the MSA and FLEC to divert small boat traffic away from the main fairways. The "Sand and Gravel Transport Boats Preferred Channel" (天津港砂石运输船舶推荐航路)^[58] runs to the south of the Main Channel and Dagukou anchorages, and is designed to avoid the dangerous flow of barges and construction vessels that used to cut across NE-SW right through the flow of large ships.^[59] The Donggu Fishing Port Channel runs north of the Dagusha Channel, close to the Nanjiang island, and separates fishing boats from the deep water channel.

Harbor basins are breakwater-protected, and include the Channels and the approaches to the wharves. The Main Harbor Basin extends 16.5 km from the Xingang Shipping Lock to breakwater mouth, and there are four secondary basins within the main basin, formed by the four jutting piers of the Beijiang port area. The North Harbor Basin is 8.5 km long by 1,100-900 m wide, and has two secondary basins (in construction). The Dagukou Harbor Basin is 14 km long, and tapers down from 1,500 to 900 m wide as it goes up the old Haihe mouth. It also has two secondary basins (in construction).

Anchorages

Tianjin Port has six main anchorage areas and two temporary anchorages. All anchorages are designated for all functions—berth waiting, quarantine, inspection and pilotage—, and provide little shelter from weather or rough seas. Bottom hold is poor to very poor, anchored vessels are advised to keep five cables of clearance, as anchor dragging is common (up to 5-10 NM in a day in winter, due to drifting ice).^[60]

The Dagukou North, South and Chemical Bulk anchorages are situated on both sides of the main shipping channel, to the east of the Dagu Lighthouse. These anchorages cater for the majority of the traffic, and can get very crowded. Collisions have occurred with some frequency in the past. The two deep water anchorage sites are further out into the deeper parts of the Bohai Bay. One anchorage for very large Capesize vessels of more than 150,000DWT is shared with Tangshan Caofeidian^[61]

Two more anchorages (N^o5 and 6) serve the Dagukou area. Both are located on the south side of the Dagusha channel. N^o6 covers 40 km², has depth of 10-13 m and anchors small and medium displacement vessels. N^o5 anchorage covers 20 km² and has a depth of 16-18 m, anchoring larger vessels.^[62] N^o6 anchorage is operational but still little used, N^o5 was recently activated (2011) but it is still considered "temporary". The most recent temporary anchorage serves the newly opened (2011) Nangang areage. Finally, there is a "Guojiadai Lay-By Berthing Area" (郑家台临时候泊区) on the Haihe, next to the Second Barrier^[63] for ships awaiting berths at the Guojiadai terminal.

Shiplocks and Tidal Barriers

The Haihe river channel is separated from the sea channels by three structures: First, the Xingang Shiplock (Chinese: 新港船闸; pinyin: xīngǎng chuánzhá) in the northern side of the estuary is the main shipping route into the Haihe area. It was started by the Japanese occupation forces in 1942, completed in 1943 and made operational by the Nationalist government after the war，in 1946. It has a width of 20.5 m and a length of 180 m. It allows passage to vessels up to 18.5 m wide, limited to 17.5 m at night and for ships carrying liquid bulk or otherwise dangerous cargoes.

Second, the Haihe Tidal Barrier (Chinese: 海河防潮闸; pinyin: hǎihé fángcháozhá), built in 1958, serves as a dam, flood control sluice and tide surge protection for the Haihe River. It is an open sluice design, with 8 gates designed for an average flow of 1,200 m³/s flow, maximum flow of 1,689 m³/s recorded in August 28, 1963. Last refurbished in 1999.^[71]

Third, the Tanggu Fishing Boat Lock (Chinese: 塘沽渔船闸; pinyin: tánggū yúchuánzhá), at the western end of the channel between Donggu and Lanjingdao Island. Built in 1959, it is 150 m long, 14 m wide, 8 m ditch depth, with a draft of 2 m. It can handle ships of up to 200 gt.^[72] In 2011, the Fishing Boat Lock gates will be rebuilt to allow for larger road traffic between Donggu and Lanjingdao. Combined with the current wind-down of fishing activity in the Port, this construction work puts the operational future of the Lock in question.^[73]

The final hydraulic structure of the Tianjin Port is the Haihe Second Barrier (Chinese: 海河二道闸; pinyin: hǎihé èrdàozhá) at Dongnigucun , in the Jinnan district. The Second Barrier is also an open-type sluice barrier, with 8 gates allowing an average flow of 1200 m³/s. The Barrier, opened in July 1984, closes ship traffic upriver into Tianjin city proper, and its erection resulted in the abandonment of 29.3 km of navigable channel.^[74]

Port Governance

State Regulation and Supervision

The Port of Tianjin falls under the supervisory and regulatory purview of the Tianjin Municipality People’s Government. The 2004 incorporation of the Tianjin Port Authority into TPG formally divested the group of its role as Port Regulator, which passed to the Tianjin Transportation and Port Authority (天津市交通运输和港口管理局), formerly the Tianjin Transport Commission. The TTPA implements state policy on port work; drafts local policies, by-laws and regulations; and licenses, audits, and issues certification to businesses operating in the port, in particular to ship terminals. The TTPA supervises and manages compliance to all laws and regulations regarding environmental protection, service compliance, pilotage, maintenance of port infrastructure and handling of dangerous goods and disinfection in all terminals and storage areas.

The Tianjin Municipality People’s Government Port Services Office (天津市人民政府口岸服务办公室) was set up in May 2009 to streamline port operations, in particular customs and inspection clearance procedures.^[75] The Port Services Office main duty is the coordination of port services, fostering collaboration between government offices and inspection units, and resolving conflicts and disputes among them (a duty which includes the power to issue emergency rulings to solve jurisdictional problems). The office is also the Port’s "foreign office", charged with fostering interchange and cooperation with other provinces (in particular the development of dry ports), and with foreign entities. Finally, the office is responsible for drafting the Port Development Plan and approving all development and expansion plans, developing streamline procedures and comprehensive joint clearance, the development of the Tianjin e-Port, etc.^[76]

Tianjin Maritime Safety Bureau : Harbormaster powers for the Port of Tianjin are mostly vested on the Tianjin Maritime Safety Bureau (天津海事局), which is the local agency of the China Maritime Safety Administration. At present, the Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration has 17 functional departments and 24 subordinate units, for a total of more than 2,000 employees. It has seven local field offices in Xingang (covering the Beijiang port area), Nanjiang, Tanggu (covering the Haihe port area), Beigang (covering the Beigangchi basin，Beitang and Hanggu), Dongjiang and Lingang port areas, plus an under-construction base at the Nangang area.

Tianjin MSA carries out a wide array of duties regarding the safe management of port activities, including vessel traffic management and berth operations, navigational safety (including SAR, AtoN, navigational warnings and management of the GMDSS), ship and crewing inspection (including Flag State Control and Port State Control obligations), local application of the China Ship Reporting System (CHISREP), management of waterways and underwater works, shore installation safety, dangerous goods handling, law enforcement patrolling, marine accident investigation, and hydrographic survey and charting.^[77] Riverine traffic control and vessel inspection is the responsibility of the Tianjin Regional Maritime Safety Agency (天津市地方海事局),^[78] which is a separate unit under dual control by the Tianjin government and the China MSA.^[79]

Maritime Law: The Port of Tianjin falls under the jurisdiction of the Tianjin Maritime Court for all matters of national and international Maritime law, including all forms of maritime contracts, torts and offenses. The Court is based on TEDA, close to the Port, and it has also set up an “express window” at the Tianjin Port Service Center that provides legal consultation on matters of custom clearance, dispute resolution services, in situ summary issuance of emergency injunctions, protective writs, payment orders and similar, as well as a summary judgment service for simple and petty cases.^[80]

Supervision, Inspection and Clearance

Inbound ships, cargo and personnel require clearance by four main government bodies: China Customs for customs declaration, Border Inspection for migration formalities, China Inspection and Quarantine for quarantine and fumigation, and the MSA for ship and crew safety regulations. Obtaining clearance from these so-called “One Customs Three Inspections” (一关三检) used to be quite a protracted process, and one of the continued foci of Port reform is to speed up the clearance procedures and reduce their (still significant) burden.

Customs Clearance: The custom agencies responsible for the Port are: the Tianjin Xingang Customs^[81] (天津新港海关), headquartered at the Container Logistics Center;^[82] the Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone Customs (天津港保税区海关), headquartered at the FTZ,^[83] and the Dongjiang Bonded Port Customs^[84] (东疆保税港区海关), headquartered at the Dongjiang Joint Inspection Center. All are subordinate units of Tianjin Customs (天津海关), which is responsible for the declaration, inspection, and duties collection for all international cargo, trade goods, luggage and postal items passing through the Port. This involves processing more than xM clearance forms a year, and efforts to streamline the process and to foster EDI use and other forms of electronic clearance are a continuous theme for Port reform.

Maritime Safety Controls: The Ship Supervision Office of the Tianjin MSA (天津海事局船舶监督处) carries out the obligations of Port State Control according to the Tokyo Memorandum of Understanding,^[85] and the obligations of Flag State Control according to the provisions of the Law of the Sea. It is tasked with monitoring the shipworthiness, safety and appropriate crewing of all vessels entering jurisdictional waters. In 2006, Tianjin was the first jurisdiction in China to introduce PSC checkpoints in accordance to the Tokyo protocol.^[86] In 2010, the MSA checked and examined 17,324 international vessels, and introduced an international maritime electronic checking and examining system to expedite the process.^[87]

Quarantine and Health Inspections: The Tianjin Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau (天津出入境检验检疫局) or TJCIQ, is tasked with the health inspection, quarantine, disinfection and sterilization of all trade goods, foodstuffs and live plants and animals, packaging materials and international ships, and the health inspection and quarantine services for all entering ship personnel and visitors,^[88] as well as the quality and safety inspection of chemical ore, metals and other cargoes with established standards. TJCIQ has stations at Xingang Liumi, the Shipping Service Center, Dongjiang, Nanjiang, Lingang, and Tanggu.

All ships must report to quarantine authorities at least three hours before anchoring, reporting the vessel's particulars, risk factors, and any suspected conditions among passengers or crew. Pratique and SSCC exceptions are available, but the SARS and Swine Flu crises increased the rigor of quarantine practices in China.

Migration and border control: Border control is the purview of the Tianjin Entry-Exit Frontier Inspection General Station (天津出入境边防检查总站), generally referred to as “Tianjin Immigration Inspection”or TJBJ by its Chinese initials. While it falls under the direct authority of the Ministry of Public Security, it is organizationally separate from the Tianjin Port PSB, employing 800 separate personnel.^[89] In the Port, the TJBJ has five local stations at Xingang Liumi, Donggang, Dongjiang, Nanjiang (which also covers the CNOOC oil platforms and the Lingang area) and Tanggu.^[90] Border Inspection deploys its own patrol boats (hulls marked Zhongguo Bianjian 12xxx),^[91] and can run immigration formalities while ships are at anchorage.^[92]

Port Management

Tianjin Port Group (TPG) is both the main Port Operator and Port Landowner, and retains some of the old Port Authority's supervisory functions. TPG is the holding company and Ultimate Controlling Party for most of the Tianjin Port operating units, and its affiliates and subordinate units run most aspects of port operation.

TPG also serves as Port Landlord, providing basic municipal services (including roads, power, water and sewerage) and other services, extending from construction materials to printing services, to the Port’s various tenant operators. In this role, TPG maintains quasi-municipal authority over port areas. Finally, as with all Chinese SOEs, the control and coordination role of the local Communist Party units is significant, as is the common cross-sharing of personnel among related units.

Traffic Management and Navigational Safety

Area Procedures and Traffic Rules

The Vessel Traffic Service Center (天津船舶交通管理中心) of the MSA provides traffic control, navigation assistance and local communication to all vessels in the Port’s fairway, anchorages and berths. The VTS Center is located in an 88 m tall control tower at the eastern end of the Dongtudi (East Pier), and has two subordinate monitoring stations at Dongjiang and Lingang. Its control area extends 20 nautical miles (37 km) from the tower. Compliance with the VTSC’s authority is mandatory, and all ships must maintain watch on its VHF channel (Ch. 9) while on the port area.

Tianjin VTS monitors traffic with several overlapping systems: a Radar Surveillance System, a VHF Communications System, an AIS system, and a CCTV system. The traffic management system integrates these data sources to a theoretical tracking capacity of 100,000 ships at a time.^[93]

The Radar Surveillance System operates X-band marine radars from the Dongtudi tower and from the Nanjiang MSA base, and the associated ARPA system monitors ship tracks and provides collision early warning.

The AIS system is part of the very extensive AIS network covering all of China’s coasts. Dongtudi tower was set up March 2010 as both the local base station and as the regional AIS Service Center.

As of 2009, the VTS Center had five CCTV sites (at the VTS Control Tower, the Nanjiang Radar Station, the Bohai Oil Tower, the Coastal Radio Building, and the Port Authority Yuhaiyuan Dormitory (the last two on the Haihe shore), for a total of 10 traffic monitoring cameras.^[94] The VTS Center also runs a hydro-meteorology data system (collecting real time data from over 25 stations and gauges), and is the main user of the weather warning system.

Traffic Rules: The Tianjin Port Main Channel is a conditional two-way channel. One-way restrictions are triggered by severe weather conditions (wind force 7 or higher), by wide ships (45 m beam for any one ship, or 75 m width total for both), by long tows (200 m or more), or by dangerous cargoes. Maximum speed in the main channel is set at 13 knots westward and 15 knots eastward, minimum speed at 5 knots.^[95] The Chuanzhadong Channel's maximum speed is 8 knots. Keel clearance must be 1.7 m or more at the Main Channel, 0.8 m at the Chuanzhadong Channel, and 0.5 m in the rest of the fairway. All ships must display flags or light signals according to the COLREGS and the International Code of Signals.^[96]

Vessels are prohibited from entering or leaving the port, or shifting berths, without special authorization from the VTS Center if: 1) visibility is less than 1,000 m; 2) there are hazardous icing conditions; 3) wind force is 9 or over. In the 2006-2010 period, there were a total or 1,382 hours of traffic closure or restriction.^[97]

Reporting Points: All vessels must report their ETA to the VTS Center at least 24 hours prior to entry into the VTS area (normally through their shipping agents), and apply for authorization. This initial report must contain the vessel’s ETA, name, nationality, call sign, draft, type, size, cargo situation and other information as needed. Position reports must be made at the following points:^[98]

1. Before entering or leaving the Xingang Main Channel (at the VTS Gateline for other Channels)
2. Before crossing through the Xingang Fairway.
3. Before doing a turnaround on the Xingang Fairway
4. After getting berthed
5. Before leaving berth
6. Before clearing out the ship lock
7. Before getting anchored
8. After getting anchored
9. Before departing the anchorage

Port traffic: Traffic volume is heavy, with 140-160 new oceangoing arrivals per day, and very large numbers of small vessels in transit at any given time. In the 2006-2010 period VTS communication service managed 362,000 instances, navigation assistance service 323,000 instances, and the traffic control service 456,000 instances.^[99] In 2010, the port had a total of 97,276 ship movements,^[100] and around 70,000 ship movements involving ships over 60 m LOA.^[101] Despite all the capacity increases, there are still bottlenecks in the traffic. As of March 18, 2011, anchorage waiting time for a ship bound for the Nanjiang terminals was 2–4 days^[102]

Pilotage

Use of harbor pilots is mandatory for all ships bearing a foreign flag, for ships carrying dangerous cargoes, during hazardous conditions and other circumstances requiring pilot assistance (normally, most ships over 60 m LOA with masters unfamiliar with the approaches). Pilots must be engaged at least 24 hours prior to arrival (normally by the shipping agent). The Pilot Center can also be contacted using VHF channel 8 or 16 during approach. The pilotage area includes all of the Haihe fairway, all of the Xingang fairway, all of the Dagusha fairway, the BZ28-1 and BZ34 oil fields in the Bohai Bay, and the SZ 36 oilfield on Liaodong bay.^[103]

The Tianjin Port Pilot Center （天津港引航中心）is located in Tanggu, close to the Port Hospital, and is in charge of the training, certification and management of the harbor pilot corps, and of helping plan and coordinate pilotage operations. It is an autonomous agency directly under the Tianjin Transportation and Port Authority, having been separated from TPG in 2007. As with the rest of Tianjin Port, the Pilot Center has experienced very fast expansion in recent years. In 2002 it had 43 certified pilots,^[104] in 2007 it had 72 pilots (19 senior pilots), in 2008 it had 114 pilots,^[105]， in 2009 it had 121 pilots,^[106] and by April 2011 it employed 141 pilots, including 23 senior pilots, 19 first-class pilots, 29 sond-class pilots, 37 third-class pilots and 16 trainee pilots, plus 17 administrative staffers.^[107]

The Center runs three Pilot Stations,^{[note 3]} for Beijiang, Nanjiang (covering Lingang) and Dongjiang (covering the Haihe). Pilots are dispatched using 5 specialized pilot ships (administered by the Tug & Lighter Company), in tugs, or, since 2004, through helicopter shuttle,^[108] into the anchorage embarkation points. These points are specified in the regulations as follows:^[109]

The Tianjin Port Pilots guided 11,590 ship movements in 2001, 13500 in 2002, 20,892 in 2004, 23,702 in 2007, 23,489 in 2008, 20,975 in 2009 and 23,200 in 2010,^[110] and they are projected to reach 30,500 ship movements by 2015.^[111]

Aids to Navigation

The Tianjin Port's aids to navigation (AtoN) system is fairly dense, and growing rapidly. The MSA Tianjin Aids to Navigation Office (天津海事局天津航标处)^[112] is responsible for the maintenance of all navaids within the Tianjin area. In 2004, the AtoN office controlled 141 navaids^[113] in the Tianjin jurisdiction, including 3 lighthouses, 12 light beacons, 22 lead markers, 44 day beacons, 55 light buoys, 1 NDB station, 1 RBN/DGPS station, 3 radar transponders, 2 large AtoN ships, 2 small AtoN ships and 1 survey ship operating from two wharves. A big reform in 2008 greatly increased the AtoN density to accommodate the needs of the two-way 250,000DWT channels,^[114] so by 2010, the number of navigational aids had gone up to 245: 3 lighthouses, 57 light beacons, 22 lead markers, 148 light buoys, 5 articulated beacons, 1 RBN/DGPS station, 2 AIS centers (Tianjin and Caofeidian), and 6 radar transponders. The AtoN maintenance fleet is now 7 strong.^[115] Expansion continues apace, and the recently (2011) commissioned Dagang channel was fully marked on July 2011 with 43 buoys.^[116]

The Port's channels are now fully laterally marked to IALA Region A (red to port) standards, including light, Racon and AIS marks. The Haihe is lined with 26 shore light beacons (plus 18 daymarks) to provide guidance for the highly meandering river channel: the beacons on the left bank are black and white piles flashing a white light in Morse code A (• –) every 6 seconds, while the right bank uses red and white piles with white lights flashing Morse code D (– • •) every 8 seconds.

Winter buoys are in place from December 1 to March 1 every year, and placing and replacing the buoyage has become a very extensive operation. The spring 2011 change from winter to warm weather buoys involved replacing 136 buoys.^[117]

Dagu Light: The landfall marker for Tianjin Port is the Dagu (Old style: Taku) Lighthouse (大沽灯塔), a wave-washed lighthouse built on 1978 on same the spot where a lightship was first moored in 1878. The light is a cylindrical concrete tower daymarked with narrow horizontal red stripes on white, and riprap protection at its base. ^[118] The lighthouse is situated at the western end of the Dagukou anchorage, mooring is prohibited for one mile around it.^[119]

The Main Channel Lead Lights (天津港主航道导标) is a system of shore leading beacons that provide bearing guidance to ships entering the main basin. It consists of two sets, 1,700 m apart, of 7 lights each. The center-line lights mark the main lead line into the Channel, and the others mark the edges of the (old) two-way navigable channel. The Xingang Central Lead Light Front is located at the Beifang Ganghang terminal, on the north side of the Nanjiang Island. The Xingang Central Lead Light Rear is located within the Bohai Oil Company compound, on the south side of Nanjiang Island. The two lights align at a bearing of 281°36', which marks the main channel from the Dagu lighthouse up to the bend at the beginning of the Chuanzhadong channel.

The Chuanzha Midline Lead Lights (新港船闸中线导标), located on the south shore of the Haihe, on the Lanjiadao peninsula. The two lights are aligned at a 294°22' bearing, which marks the route through the Chuanzhadong Channel and into the Xingang Shiplock from buoy 44 on. A set of six smaller beacons around the Shiplock marks the navigable channel boundaries.

RBN-DGPS: The Beitang RBN-DGPS Station (北塘RBN-DGPS台站) is located in the Beitang region (39°06′N 117°43′E),^[123] and provides RDF and Differential GPS service to all maritime users. The station uses a 200 W Amplidan 15770 transmitter with a 35 m x 60 m T-antenna. The station was established in December 2001, and was last refurbished in 2009.^[124]

Weather Monitoring and Reporting

While the Port directly operates a number of hydro-meteorological stations (including tide gauges), weather forecasting is primarily the responsibility of the Tianjin Binhai New Area Weather Warning Center (天津市滨海新区气象预警中心), the local agency of the Tianjin Municipal Weather Bureau (天津市气象局).^[126] The Warning Center uses local (26 automatic weather stations in Binhai), national and satellite data to forecast marine and port weather.^[127] The Center's Weather Radar Station at TEDA (an S-band Doppler radar) gives early warning of squalls, waterspouts, and all sort of sudden severe weather within 230 km of shore.^[128] The Tanggu Oceanic Weather Station (天津市塘沽海洋气象台—WMOID: 54623), the first of China's 14 oceanic weather stations, forecasts the Bohai Sea area using data from the large weather observatory at Bohai Oil Platform A and a number of marine telemetry stations.

The Tianjin Weather Bureau operates both as a public service and a commercial enterprise. In 2009 it started to set up a number of “communication systems” to speedily send weather information to critical users.^[129] Of these, the Tianjin Port Meteorological Information Comprehensive Service System (天津港气象信息综合服务系统) and the Bohai Sea Oceanic Forecasting Service System (环渤海海洋预报服务系统) cater specifically to the need of port and shipping operators. The Weather Bureau also runs additional privately contracted weather monitoring for the Port, in particular deploying 150 automatic wind observation points to provide real-time data to the Dispatching Center (as wind strongly affects shipping operations).^[128]

Maritime Communication and Navigation Distress and Safety

Tianjin Coastal Radio: The Tianjin MSA Communications and Information Center (天津海事局通信信息中心) runs the Tianjin Coastal Station (天津海岸电台，Callsign: XSV; Call: Tianjin Radio; MMSI 004121100). The Station is in charge of the communicational obligations of the Global Maritime Distress Safety System in the Port’s jurisdiction, supports the SAR Center’s communication needs, and supports the MSA’s duties of coordination and communications. ^[130] It also provides public maritime correspondence (CP) services in voice telephony, radiotelex and radiotelegraphy^{[note 4]} services to ships within its range.^[131]

The Coastal Radio broadcasts from three antenna complexes: Tanggu Control Station (塘沽新港控台), located on the north shore of the lower Haihei, is the central control center and houses the VHF antenna. The Junliangcheng Antenna Tower (军粮城发信天线塔）in Dongli has the more powerful (10 kW) long-distance MF/HF transmitters. Finally, the Huanggang Receiving Station (黄港收信台), located to the south of the Second Huanggang Reservoir,^{[note 6]} is the main listening post^[135]

Maritime Rescue Coordination: The primary SAR agency is the Tianjin Maritime Search and Rescue Center (天津市海上搜救中心), with responsibility for coordinating all SAR activities in Port waters. Peculiarly, it is not a formal part of the MSA structure (it falls under the direct jurisdiction of the China Maritime Search and Rescue Center), but the TJMSA has administrative authority, and both units share leadership personnel.^[136] The SAR Center staffs a main base and four branch offices. The SAR Center's Emergency Command Center is located in Tanggu, and it shares the MSA's VTS, radar, communication, AIS and CCTV systems.^[137] It can be contacted via VHF channel 24, or using the specialized maritime emergency phone number "12395"(a number effective in most of China).

Distress and Safety Systems and Maritime Safety Information: There are three distress and safety communication systems in Tianjin jurisdictional waters, operated in parallel by the MSA, the Fisheries Bureau and the Coast Guard. While there is data sharing and coordination between the agencies, the systems are independent.

The MSA is responsible for the standard GMDSS implementation, and it (not the SARC) takes on the formal MRCC responsibilities for the Port. Tianjin Coastal Radio operates the DSC system, monitoring VHF Ch. 16 and MF 2182 kHz as per the requirements of SOLAS.

The NAVTEX system operates at present in Chinese in a non-IMO standard, and will soon (2011) operate at the 518 kHz international standard. Tianjin Coastal Radio also broadcasts MSI using the wireless telegraphy,^{[note 7]} SSB, NDBP, and VHF networks.

The Fisheries Safety Communications Network (全国渔业安全通信网) is run by Fisheries Bureau, and it is quite separate from standard civil marine communications. The FSCN operates as a VMS, using the standard VHF and AIS-B networks, but it also uses its own independent network of HF coastal stations (全国渔业安全通信网), a separate system of FM voice radio operating at the 27.5 MHz-39.475 MHz band (using specialized radio equipment^[142]), and a CDMA network run on China Telecom’s cellphone network (“渔信e通” or “Fishing Communications e-Connect”). The fisheries control system has its own protocols for automatic position reporting, MSI, meteorological reports, distress monitoring and SAR operations.

The "Marine 110" Command Center (“海上110”指挥中心) is the fast response command and control system of the Coast Guard, receiving all forms of alert, and directing SAR missions, interdiction, and general law enforcement operations.^[144] The Tianjin Center was completed in 2005 and expanded in 2007 and 2011. It uses the Tianjin Municipal Coastal Monitoring System (地级海防监控系统) , which covers 100 km of coastline with 160 CCTV cameras (with night vision capabilities), and deep-surveillance radar.^[145] to monitor the coast to around 70 km from shore.^[146]

SAR Operations and Emergency Response

The Tianjin Search and Rescue Base of the China Rescue and Salvage Beihai Bureau is the front-line SAR operations agency.^[148] It is located at the western end of the Tianjin Harbor Basin, on the Nanjiang island, next to the CNOOC Bohai Oil Compound. The base was built in 1995, covering 0.65 hectares. It had a staff of 67 in 2009, including diving specialists.^[149] As an ancillary force, Tianjin Port started China's first volunteer Search and Rescue team (海上搜救志愿者队伍) in December 2010,^[150] at present composed mostly of specialists recruited from within port employees.

SAR Assets: Tianjin SAR Base keeps three dynamic standby stations, normally with the following units:^[151]

1. Search and Rescue Base’s Wharf: One Fast Rescue Boat (Huaying 387)^[152] and one rescue tug.
2. Dagukou Anchorage: One Medium Rescue Ship (Beihaijiu 169)
3. Beihai 2nd Point (10 NM south of Caofeidian, 38º50´N / 118º25´E) : One Medium Rescue Ship (Beihaijiu 115)

All government patrol ships, and all TPG harbor craft are available for search and rescue under MSA authority. Ships belonging to CNOOC Bohai are also routinely asked to assist in all cases of accident or mishap, as well as to participate in regular disaster preparation exercises. Finally, eight harbor crafts and two fishing boats have been “deputized” as a volunteer SAR boat team (志愿船舶队伍).^[153] Air assets are relatively scarce. Closest China SAR seaplanes or helicopters are located at Yantai and Dalian.^[154] Instead, Tianjin SARC has in the past used commercial helicopters from CITIC Offshore Helicopter Service (the helicopter service provider for CNOOC Bohai) for SAR missions.^[155]

Tianjin Group PSB Firefighting Detachment (天津港公安局消防支队) holds the fire-fighting and fire prevention duties for both the land and water areas of the Port. As of 2009, the detachment had 13 firetrucks, and the Tanggu District’s Fire Detachment cooperates with any incidents on land (the standard emergency number 119 can be used to report incidents in the Port area, land or sea). Tianjin Port also has a volunteer fire department, a relatively uncommon outfit in China, set up to assist on fire monitoring, disaster firefighting, and rescue.^[156]

On behalf of the Firefighting Detachment, the Tianjin Port Tug & Lighter Company operates three dual-purpose tugs/fireships (Jingang Xiaotuo 1^[157], “Jinganglun 25’’ and Jinganglun 30^[158]), plus five other tugs that have significant fire-fighting capacity.^[159] Three more vessels are under construction.^[160] All harbor vessels with suitable pumps can be pressed into service in case of maritime conflagration.

Emergency Medical Assistance: The Tianjin Port Hospital（天津港口医院) is the primary provider of emergency medical care in the port. It is a 314 bed comprehensive hospital, owned by TPG, that is specially licensed to deal with infectious disease outbreaks, quarantine and maritime accident trauma. Its orthopedic trauma department is especially well ranked. It also has special provisions to cater to foreign visitors and crewmembers.^[161] Maritime Telemedical Assistance Service^[162] can be requested by messaging "HD MEDICO XSV" on Ch 16 radiotelephony (preceded with PAN PAN for urgent cases), or radiotelexing “MED+" (prefixing “XXX” for urgent cases) to 2012 XSV CN on 2082 kHz.

Pollution Control: Tianjin MSA is the Port’s “National Operational Contact Point” pursuant to MARPOL, and must be contacted (VHF 9) in all incidents of shipborne harmful substance spills. The MSA is as of 2011 setting up an oil spill control center (天津市海上溢油及化学品事故应急反应中心), and stockpiles of materials with a target of being able to rapidly control spills of up to 2,000 tons (a mid-size spill).^[163]

The State Oceanic Administration has overlapping authority regarding spills and pollution, usually concentrated on platforms and pipelines incidents. SOA's Tianjin Station of the Oceanic Environmental Monitoring Center (天津海洋环境监测中心站), formerly the Tanggu Marine Station, is located at the Port and carries out the environmental monitoring, surveying and forecasting duties, including red tide prediction and pollution surveyance.^[164]

Law Enforcement

The maritime governance regime in China is peculiar in its multiplicity of actors and apparent duplication of labor. Five major agencies (MSA, SOA, CCG, FLEC, GAC),^[165] plus the local People’s Police and other local units, divide maritime and coastal law enforcement, safety and administrative duties, with much overlap in formal remits. These agencies’ responsibilities reflect the functional jurisdiction of their parent ministries, and their operational emphases fit those jurisdictions. Only the Coast Guard (Maritime Police) patrol vessels are armed gunboats, and the Guard has first line jurisdiction in gendarmerie missions such as terrorism, piracy and serious crimes.

People’s Police Units

The Tianjin Port Public Security Bureau (天津港公安局) is one of the fourteen branch offices of the Tianjin Public Security Bureau, with sub-bureau status. It is responsible for public order, law enforcement, criminal investigation, road traffic control, and fire safety and firefighting. Its territorial jurisdiction covers the nearly 260 square kilometers of land and waters of the Tianjin Port, the ships entering the port, the premises of all of the sub-units of the TPG, and other adjacent areas. It has three branch offices at Xingang (Beijiang), Nanjiang and Dongjiang, and 10 local police stations.^[166] As of 2010 it had 590 policemen (with an expansion to 1,000 officers planned), 153 civilian employees, 240 firefighters, plus oversight control of more than 1,500 security guards.^[167]

Water Police: The Tianjin Port PSB has its own water police unit running its own patrol boats,^[168] which are berthed on a floating pontoon station (天津港公安局水上治安派出所) built on a converted floating crane,^[169] currently located on the K1 berth of the Tianjin Port Passenger Terminal.

Border Protection: the Public Security Border Troops (公安边防部队) are a gendarmerie force under control of the MPS in charge of border protection and security. The border guards' local ground unit is the Binhai New Area Public Security Border Protection Detachment]] (滨海新区公安边防支队). The Binhai Border Troops staff three stations located within the Port area (Donggu, Gaoshaling, Beitang), with five more under construction (Dongjiang, Lingang, Nangang, Binhai Tourist Area and the Central Fishing Port).^[170]

The Border Guards' maritime branch (usually called the China Coast Guard, or more strictly the China Maritime Police) is responsible for marine border protection and policing. The local unit is the Tianjin Border Protection Maritime Police Flotilla (天津公安边防总队海警支队), which has jurisdiction over a 24,000 km² area. Its patrol boats (hull numbers zhongguo haijing 12xxx) operate from the Border Troops Wharf at Yujiapu in the Haihe; from the SAR wharf in Nanjiang; from a new pontoon wharf in Nangang;^[171] and soon (estimated 2012) from wharves in the Lingang Port Area and in the Beitang Port Area.

The Tianjin Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau (天津海关缉私局), usually called the Anti-Smuggling Police (天津海关缉私警察) is a People's Police unit under the dual command of the MPS and the GAC. It is the main body engaged in control, prevention and investigation of customs fraud and duty evasion and smuggling (including cultural goods, drugs, dangerous materials, etc). The Tianjin ASB does not deploy revenue cutters, but occasionally boats from Yantai or Qingdao have been seconded to Tianjin.^[172]

Other Law Enforcement Bodies

The law enforcement arms of the MSA are the Maritime Public Security Bureau (天津海事公安局) and the Tianjin MSA Law Enforcement Patrol Flotilla (天津海事局巡查执法支队).^[77] The Maritime PSB (not to be confused with the Tianjin Port Public Security Bureau) is responsible for maritime law enforcement and carries out marine accident and criminal investigations. The Patrol Flotilla deploys five patrol ships^[173] (hull numbers haixun 05xx), which monitor and manage shipping traffic, maintain navigational order and safety, and cooperate on patrol, escort, and search and rescue missions as needed.

The Second Detachment of China Maritime Surveillance (中国海监第二支队) of the Tianjin Oceanic Administration has jurisdiction over the Bohai and Laizhou Bays, and over all the coastal areas of Tianjin and Hebei.^[174] It monitors environmental damage, illegal use of the sea resources, violation of maritime regulations, damage to marine facilities, and surveys sea ice, red tides, and other hazardous oceanic conditions.^[175] It deploys its own patrol boats (hull numbers Zhongguo Haijian xx), and a new base is under construction at the Lingang area.

The Tianjin Fisheries Management and Fishing Port Supervision and Management Office (天津市渔政渔港监督管理处) is a branch of the Tianjin Fisheries Bureau under the China Fisheries Law Enforcement Command Center (中国渔政指挥中心). ^[176] It is in charge of enforcing fishing regulations, of controlling illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and of fishing navigational safety^[177] It enforces the annual fishing moratorium, protected fish reserves, and other fishing restrictions. The Fisheries Law Enforcement Tianjin Flotilla (中国渔政天津市船队) is the patrol boat unit (hull numbers Zhongguo Yuzheng 12xxx). Tianjin FLEC does not have a dedicated base, so its ships are berthed at the Tianjin Central Fishing Port, the Donggu Fishing Port, Haihe Border Guard Wharf and the MSA wharves.

Business Structure and Economic Activity

Ownership Structure

The Port of Tianjin is a state-owned enterprise (SOE), run as an independent corporation, with separate finances and a commercial orientation. The Port Owner is the Tianjin Municipality People’s Government (天津市人民政), through the Tianjin SASAC (Tianjin State Assets Supervision and Administration Committee—天津国有资产监督管理委员会), which is the full owner of the Tianjin Port (Group) Company (TPG). TPG's board is appointed by the Tianjin government. TPG is the effective holding company and main Port Operator, and it owns or has a stake on the majority of the Port's various operating outfits.

Since the 2009 merger,^[178] TPG’s main operating subsidiary is Tianjin Port Development Co. Ltd (TPD), which in turn is the majority shareholder of Tianjin Port Holdings Co. Ltd (TPC). TPG has been injecting operational assets to TPC for several years, and since 2009 to TPD (most recently the Shihua Crude Oil Terminal). This has created somewhat of a functional division. The listed TPD, directly or through TPC, controls all terminals and direct cargo-handling operations. TPG still directly controls most of the utility, support and ancillary units related to the Port, and retains control of strategic planning. TPG is directly or indirectly a party in 53 joint ventures^[179]

Financing and Capital Structure

The two main operator holding companies are listed. Tianjin Port Holdings Company Limited (天津港股份有限公司) was listed as an A share (SSE: 600717 ) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 1996.^[180]

Tianjin Port Development Holdings Limited (天津港发展有限公司) was incorporated in the Cayman Islands and listed as a red chip stock (HKEX: 3382) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2005.^[181]

Tianjin Port Finance Company ^[182] operates as the in-house financial service provider for the Group. Besides basic services as discounting of commercial notes, bill settlement and payments clearing, the TJPFC redirect funds between units of the Group in the form of loans, which circumvents the legal prohibition of direct financial transfers between members of a conglomerate.

Port Operations

Tianjin Port operates 365 days a year, 24 hours a day (on three shifts at 00:00-08:00, 08:00-16:00 and 16:00-24:00). As a comprehensive port, it handles all sort of cargoes, including dry and liquid bulk, general cargo, containers, vehicles, and passengers.

The subsidiaries and partial-ownership partners of TPG are involved in all facets of port operation, including production, shipping agency, cargo agency, cargo handling, storage and transportation, infrastructure management, communications and information services, financial services, power supply, real estate development, health care, training of cadres and workers, education, port security, transportation, fire protection, port facilities management, environmental management, etc.^[183]

ĕ=== Scheduling and Dispatching ===

The Tianjin Port Group’s Operation Department (天津港集团业务部) is in charge of coordinating the productive operation of the Port, and must be informed of all ship movements and major operations. The production schedule (ship movement plan) is arranged by the TPG Dispatch Control Center (天津港集团生产调度指挥中心), in coordination with the wharf operators, the MSA, and the pilot center. The Dispatch Center organizes ship movements, tracks pilotage operations, and supervises terminal operations via real-time CCTV monitoring.^[184] The Dagukou port area has a separate dispatching center (天津临港经济区船舶调度指挥中心).

Foreign flag ships must engage a shipping agency, and the agency has responsibility of communicating with the Operations Department directly, giving notice of the vessel name and registration, nature of the ship, ship specifications, captain, goods type and quantity, and special needs (such as traffic diversion, tugs) 72 and 24 hours prior to arrival. Departures and in-harbor ship movements must be notified before 1130 on the day prior to movement (planning day runs from 1800 to 1800). Emergency and short-notice movements require special permission.^[103]

Harbor Craft: The main provider of harbor craft is the Tianjin Port Tug & Lighter Company.^[185] The TTLC operates the harbor tugs, fireboats, pilot boats and other ancillary craft such as the crewboat Xinbinhai, or the sightseeing boat Xinhaimen (used for inspection and visiting VIPs). The company operates 26 harbor tugs (between 2600 HP and 6000 HP of power), 5 pilot ships, 7 other ancillary crafts, 2 floating cranes (120 t and 200 t capacity); and around three dozen lighters, the largest around 1,340 t displacement. The Dagusha channel is served by a subsidiary company of TTLC, the Tianjin Lingang Tug Company (天津临港拖轮有限公司), operating four tugboats.^[186]

Icebreakers: Routine icebreaking is usually handled by the Tug & Lighter Company. In case of ice emergencies, the MSA coordinates icebreaking patrols, using heavy harbor tugs and dredges. During the frozen winter of 2010-11, the Port authorities estimated that there were 16 ships with icebreaking capabilities available, 10 of which belonged to the TTLC.^[187] CNOOC Bohai had 24 icebreakers, needed to clear offshores platforms, but also lent two larger icebreakers to the Port. ^[188] .

Other Work Vessels: CNOOC Bohai Oil maintains a flotilla of 110 offshore support vessels (OSV),^[189] many homeported at Tianjin. These boats which are available for emergency work under MSA authority. Two of their floating cranes (800 ton and one 500 ton) can be commercially engaged for harbor duty.

The main construction and engineering outfit is CCCC First Harbor Engineering (中交第一航务工程局有限公司). ^[190] As of 2010, First Harbor Engineering First Company (the main boat outfit) had a fleet of 74 work vessels.^[191] As with dredgers, the sheer scale of construction in the Port means that many other outfits deploy hundreds of vessels. As of 2009, there were 418 construction vessels operating at the Port, including 236 sand barges and fluvial workboats.^[192]

Channel Maintenance

Hydrographic Surveying and Charting: As an artificial port dependent of dredged channels susceptible to silting, continuous depth surveying is critical to the Port. Tianjin Port is the base of the Tianjin MSA Hydrographic Survey Brigade (天津海事局海测大队)^[193] which covers the entire Beihai (Northern Seas) area, covering the Bohai and Yellow seas, and is responsible for the hydrographic surveying, monitoring and charting of all waters and shipping channels in the area. The Hydrographic Brigade has two survey ships (Haice 051 and Haice 0502), and recently (2010) started to use UAV for surveying^[194]

Dredging: The Tianjin Dredging Company ^[195] (天津航道局) is the organic waterway management company of the Tianjin Port Group. As of January 2010, the TDC deployed 100 boats, and had the largest dredging capacity of China, with a capacity of 300 million cubic meters and more than 500,000 kW of vessel power.^[196] Despite these numbers, the scale of fairway expansion and land reclamation in the Port means that several other construction companies operate large numbers of dredging vessels as well.^[197]

Dredging the Haihe Channel is the responsibility of the Tianjin Municipal Water Management Bureau (天津市水务局)，which maintains both navigability and river flow capacity (set at 800 m3/s). The Water Management dredgers operate from wharves at the Second Haihe Barrier and at the Haihe Tidal Barrier.^[198]

Services and Amenities

Facilities management: TPG operates as the port landlord, and provides most utilities, municipal services and ancillary services to the various port operators. The services it provides are very wide in scope, spanning everything from electrical power, to construction materials, to printing services. The main organ of TPG’s landlord function is the Tianjin Port Facilities Management Company (天津港设施管理服务公司), which manages and maintains all municipal services -including roads, railroads, bridges, water, and sewerage-, installs and maintains wharf equipment and other production material, as well as provides municipal administration, and provides engineering consultancy services.^[199]

Bunkerage: The main bunker oil, lubricants and water provider in Tianjin Port is Tianjin Chimbusco.^[200] Chimbusco China had a monopoly on the supply of bonded bunker oil (i.e. for foreign vessels) in China until 2006. Tianjin Chimbusco (a TPG subsidiary) retained its exclusive rights in Tianjin until 2009, and the end of the monopoly resulted in a black gold rush of competing bunkerage companies. Sinopec Zhoushan entered the Tianjin market in October 2010, in December 2010 SinoBunker did as well, ^[201] and in June 2011, China Changjiang Bunker followed suit.^[202] This sudden rise in competition resulted in a serious price war and crashing prices in 2011.^[203] Most forms of maritime fuels are available, mostly IFO 120CST, 180CST, 380CST, MDG, and MDO. Bunkering operations are done by tanker barge, as most berths do not have fueling equipment. Equally, drinking water is mostly delivered by barge.

Chandlery and Supplies:Several dozen ship chandlers are capable of providing all necessary ship stores and deck and engine supplies both at berth or at anchorage. The oldest international chandler is Tianjin Ocean Shipping Supply company (天津市外轮供应公司),^[204] owned by the city. Most spare parts are available locally, and special orders can be flown in easily.

As the port of a very major city, facilities available to crews on shore leave are of course very extensive. Replacement crews are available at all times.

Cleaning and Sanitation Services: Bilge, slops and ballast water disposal is a major pollution hazard for the Bohai Bay, and it is tightly regulated by the MSA. Only specially authorized enterprises can engage in their removal and disposal, or in tank cleanup.^[205] Nevertheless, illegal dumping of ballast water is a persistent problem and one of the Port's major law enforcement challenges.

Tianjin Port Harbor Service Company (天津港港口服务公司) is the Group’s organic “housekeeping” service, providing garbage disposal and cabin, hold and bedding clean-up for ships at berth.^[206] Many other outfits are available for all sorts of cleaning, disinfection and deck maintenance.

Shipping Agencies: Engaging a shipping agent is mandatory for all foreign flagged ships, and Tianjin has several dozen such outfits operating at present. The largest agents are Tianjin Penavico (外轮代理公司), owned by TPG, and Tianjin Sinoagent (天津船务代理有限公司),^[207] a subsidiary of Tianjin Sinotrans. Agencies have fairly extensive obligations as intermediaries for most paperwork procedures involving ship operators and the government or TPG,^[208] as well as their traditional duties of arranging ship supply and cargo handling.

Trade and Shipping Services

One of the strategic goals of the Port is to increase its high-value services business.

The Tianjin International Trade and Shipping Service District (天津国际贸易与航运服务区) is located in the North Basin area of the Beijiang port area, south of the Tianjin Port Container Logistics Center, adjacent to the business and services district of TEDA. The Service District is 900 m east-west and 700 m north-south, for a total of 88 hectares, (to expand to 100 hectares long-term). The Service District is composed of nine high-rise buildings,^[209] including the TPG main office building and the International Shipping Service Center.

The Tianjin International Trade and Shipping Service Center (天津国际贸易与航运服务中心) provides "one-stop" service for six main aspects of shipping and trade: international trade, government services, market operations, information distribution, social supervision and personnel exchanges, and financial services. was put into operation on November 7, 2005, and moved to its current purpose-built, 59000 m² building in 2007.^[210]

The main role of the Center is to centralize the clearing process, aggregating 270 government service windows from 14 government agencies, including customs, inspection and quarantine, maritime safety, border control, traffic control, maritime court, electronic customs clearance, business taxes, state audit and supervision, and labor management. various TPG companies, banks and insurers, trading and shipping companies, logistics operators, cargo and shipping agents. covering and other units and departments, as well as business services for international trade, shipping, logistics, transportation, customs declaration, shipping agents, cargo agents, finance, insurance, consulting, legal services, business services and other related businesses and institutions. A total of 70 organizations with 1380 employees operate in the Center. The Center also runs the Tianjin Shipping Index (天津航运指数), which provides shipping cost data for all of North China.

Terminals, Berths and Wharves

Production Terminals

The Port's docking terminals are operated by autonomous companies that are either fully owned by, or are joint ventures with TPC or TPD. While the 2004 Port Law allowed full foreign ownership of port facilities, Tianjin Port was slower than other major ports in allowing full external control of terminals. Still today, TPG is not the majority shareholder in only a few of the Port’s main terminals.

Service and Ancillary Wharves

A fair number of secondary wharves tend to the service, supply and maintenance ships that a complex port needs to function: these range from a number of temporary sand unloading wharves, needed for construction,^[247] to large bunkering wharves and the bases of the various law enforcement agencies. Some other ancillary wharves are in fact working cargo docks (Customs Type 2), but are generally not counted in the official production berths number.

Passenger Services

Tianjin Xingang Passenger Terminal

The Tianjin Xingang Passenger Terminal (天津新港客运站） is located at the western end of the Beijiang area, immediately next to the Bomesc Shipyard. It is run by the Tianjin Passenger Company, a subsidiary of the Tianjin Port Group. The Terminal used to be the berth for visiting pleasure cruises, but since the opening of the Tianjin Homeport in July 2010，the Terminal serves only ferry services and coastal cruises. The terminal and ancillary buildings have 15,000 m²of built surface.^[264]

The terminal has 3 berths of 8-12 m depth that can serve passenger ships, Ro-Ro ferries, car carriers and cruise ships. K-1 Berth (the westernmost berth of the terminal) has a floating bridge that provides all-tide service to Ro-Ro vessels. It is also the most common loading berth for harbor pilots.

Four main regular ferry lines leave Tianjin, serviced by a fleet of three Ro-Ro ferry boats. There are two international destinations, Kobe in Japan and Incheon in South Korea, and two national destinations Yantai in Shandong Province and Dalian in Liaoning Province, which (at present) only run in the summer. The ships and general route schedules are as follows:

• Putuodao (普陀岛) 16,234 DWT, ro-ro car ferry，137mx23.4mx5.6 m; 1428 passengers. Dalian.
• Tianren (天仁) ro-ro car ferry; 12521 DWT; 188.5x24.8x6.91 m; 25.2 knots; 544 passengers. Leaves Tianjin Port Thursday and Sunday, arrives at Tianjin on Wednesday and Saturday.
• Yanjing (燕京); ro-ro car ferry; 135x20 m； 20 knots； 442 passengers，165 TEU capacity. Leave Tianjin on Monday 1100, arrives at Kobe on Wednesday 1400. Leaves Kobe on Friday 1200, arrives at Tianjin Xingang on Sunday 1400.

Sightseeing Tours

The Tianjin Port Haiyi Travel Service Co.(天津港海颐旅行社公司) runs short harbor trips on the sightseeing boat Haiyi (海颐号), with capacity for 132 passengers (¥30 as of November 2011). It operates from the K1 berth of the Passenger Terminal. One-hour trips, day trips and two-day trips are available by engagement.

The Tianjin Haihe Jinlu Youchuan company operates from the Sightseeing Boats Pier at the other side of the main basin. It operates two ships, the Haijing (海景号) with capacity for 150 passengers and the Jinhai (津海号) with capacity for 184 passengers. ¥50 as of April 2011.

Tianjin Cruise Homeport

The new Tianjin Cruise Homeport started operation in the summer of 2010.^[265] It is located in the southern tip of the Dongjiang peninsula, at a 120 hectares development area that is expected to become a tourist complex including resorts, hotels and duty-free shopping centers. The all-services terminal building, designed by China Construction Design International (CCDI), is a large white GFRC-clad building designed to mimic the flow of white silk on an ocean breeze.^[266] The 60,000 m² terminal houses port administration, shipping agencies, restaurants, hotels and other services, and its migration and custom facilities are capable of processing 4,000 passengers at a time,^[267] for an annual capacity of 500,000 passengers. At present, the Homeport has two berths capable of accommodating ships up to 220,000 gt -enough to receive even the largest currently operating cruisers.

The Tianjin Cruise Homeport is the fourth cruise homeport in China, the first in Northern China, and currently the largest in Asia. It will be capable of providing all the bunkering, resupplying and maintenance needs of its homeported cruise ships. At present, two major cruise companies, Italy’s Costa Cruises and US-Norway's Royal Caribbean International Cruises, will make Tianjin its homeport for their cruises in Asia. Two cruisers, Costa’s Costa Romantica and Royal Caribbean’s Legend of the Seas will be homeported at Tianjin during the summer.^[265]

Yachting Marinas

In order to exploit the pent-up demand for yachting services among China's newly wealthy, there are three large-scale marina projects underway at the Tianjin Port. The business plans and targeted public of these projects are in flux, and vary report by report.^[268]

The Binhai Ocean One Yachting Club (滨海一洋游艇会) is being built at the southern end of the Dongjiang Scenic Area's artificial beach. It is planned to become a yachting port with 700-berths plus an extra 200 pile mooring slots. The first 71 berths are supposed to be completed by the end of 2011.^[269] The associated yachting club will be part of the Dongjiang entertainment complex, and target leisure users.

The Sino-Australia Royal Yacht City （中澳皇家游艇城）is a 1,000-berth development （to be completed in 2012) in the Tianjin Central Fishing Port.^[270] This project intends to create a "Northern Yacht Industrial Center" that clusters yacht manufacturing, sales and marinas all in one. At present, its club intends to target the wealthiest clienteles.

The Hi-speed Tianjin Yacht City （海斯比天津游艇城） in the Binhai Tourist Area plans to add 3,000 berths,^[271] focusing on high-speed boats, sailboats and high-performance yachts. The 66.7 ha site will include diving services, yacht rentals, sport fishing, racing events, and other sport and leisure activities.

Ship Repair and Shipbuilding Facilities

Tianjin Port has several ship repair and shipbuilding facilities capable of carrying out almost all forms of ship repair and refitting for all but the largest ships, and those capabilities are increasing rapidly as part of the Port’s expansion plans.

The Tanggu port area was one of the earliest modern shipbuilding areas of China. The still-functioning Taku Dockyard (now the ‘’’Tianjin City Shipyard’’’) was founded in 1880, and is the oldest modern dockyard in Northern China. Many small shipyards operated in the Haihe region, but most have closed in recent years, or will soon close to make way for the large development projects of the Binhai Urban Core.

The main ship repair facility in the port is the CSIC Tianjin Xingang Shipyard. Founded in 1939, it is located at the very end of the main harbor basin, right next to the Haihe shiplock. Immediately next to it is the CCCC Bomesc Maritime Industry’s facility (built in 2007). On the Nanjiang region, Singapore’s Sembawang Shipyard entered in 1997 to the first foreign joint shipyard project in China, in partnership with Bohai Oil. That shipyard is now the CNOOC Bohai Oil BOHIC subsidiary.

Currently under construction in the Lingang area is the Xingang Shipbuilding and Repair Base, an L-shaped facility built around Basin 1 of the Dagukou harbor. The Xingang Shipyard will fully relocate to the new location once it is complete. The first dry dock is already completed and operational, and in 2011 produced 18 ships of 57,000 DWT or less. Once the Base is fully operational in 2015, it is expected to be able to produce up to 5,000,000  DWT of new vessel construction, repair 200 ships a year, and have sales of over 2 billion USD.^[272] Bomesc and the Xinhe Shipyard are also building shipbuilding/repair bases in the Lingang area facilities, and it is hoped by the Tianjin development authorities that Lingang will become the largest shipbuilding cluster in North China.^[273]

A large number of ship repair companies offer services at berth, and the Tianjin Wuzhou Marine Service Engineering Co. (天津五洲海事工程有限公司) offers anchorage and under-way repairs using its specialized repair ship Jinyuanhangxiu 1 (津远航修1号).

Transportation and Logistics

Storage, transportation and all forms of logistics processing are the core activity of the Port, and it is no surprise that the majority of its land surface is dedicated to storage and processing facilities. A large number of companies operate storage yards, warehouses and tank farms on port land. There are two large-scale purpose-built logistics areas designed to provide support and facilities to the operating logistics outfits.

The chief logistics unit of the Port Group is Tianjin Logistics Development Co., established in 2009 by merging the Tianjin Port Storage and Distribution Company (天津港货运公司) with other Group logistics assets.^[282] TLD runs 1,800,000 m² of storage yard, with a capacity for 32,000 TEU of containers, and is responsible for the establishment and management of the dry port network and the establishment of intermodal routes, as well as being the principal drayage provider.

Roads and Railways

Internal Railroads Two main lines (First and Second Port Railroads - 进港一二线) service the Beijiang and Nanjiang areas respectively. The Jinji railway connects these lines as a de facto ring railroad. A web of around 60 km of internal railways go deep into the wharves and storage yards of the Beijiang area. The Nanjiang area is primarily connected through the Nanjiang Rail Bridge. This bridge was expanded to double-track in 2010, for an annual capacity of 70 million tons. A second bridge is under construction. A moving belt corridor runs parallel to the railway, carrying coal and ore to the Bulk Logistics Center.

A major expansion of intermodal capacity will come with the completion of the Third Port Railway (进港三线) project servicing Dongjiang and the Container Logistics Center. The new line will terminate at the Tianjin Xingang North Railway Container Central Station (天津新港北铁路集装箱中心站), which is located in 140 ha of land in the Dongjiang area, directly north of the Huicheng terminal, and is expected to be completed in 2012. The Xingang North Station will be purpose-built for the intermodal transfer and management of containers, and it will be supported by a new large automated marshalling yard in Beitang (北塘西编组站). ^[283]

Highways and Roads: The internal roads in the Port carry a enormously heavy, noisy and noisome flow of traffic, and traffic jams are not uncommon at certain bottlenecks. The internal roads at the three main Port areas a broken grid pattern, the east-west roads connecting with the expressways that feed the port. The main north-south roads are the Yuejin road transfixing the Container Logistics Center, the Meizhou (Americas) Road in the Dongjiang Area, and the

The backbone road of the Port is the Haibin Expressway (S11, 海滨高速), which runs north-south and roughly represents the Port’s western boundary.^{[note 8]} The main east-west feeder roads are the S40 Jingjintang Expressway (S40, 京津塘高速), which merges into the Jingmen road; the Jinbin Expressway (S13, 津滨高速) and the G103 Highway, which both merge into the Xingang Fourth Road; and the S30 Jingjin Expressway (京津高速), which becomes the Jishuanggang road and then the Xingang 8th Road into Dongjiang. In the south, the Tianjin Avenue and the Jinpu Expressway (S50) connect into the Nanjiang and Lingang areas.

These feeder roads connect with the extremely thick Beijing-Tianjin road hub, with seven radial roads from Beijing and XX from Tianjin. Of these, the Jinji Expressway (S1) is one the main alternative routes into Beijing (through Pinggu) and the Northwest （through the 6th Ring Road and the G6 expressway), and the Changzhen Expressway (G25) is the main North-South connector.

Water Routes: The deep water routes into the Port pass through a Traffic Separation Scheme south of Caofeidian, and can be quite a crowded waterway. The possibility of rehabilitating the northern parts of the Grand Canal resurface as speculation on a regular basis in relation to the South – North Water Transfer Project.

Internal Waterways: The three main port areas are fairly poorly connected by road, requiring rather long detours to transport any cargo or equipment between them. While several bridges and tunnels directly linking Dongjiang with Beijiang and Nanjiang areas are projected for future development, these are still in early planning stages. To help relieve this internal bottleneck, in April 2010 the Port introduced a lighter route connecting Nanjiang (N-10 berth) and Beijiang (Tianjin Container Terminal), using one heavy barge (7800 gt, 200 TEU).^[284] Another regular lighter route connecting Beijiang with Dongjiang was established on September 2010.^[285]

Airports: The Port is 30 min away from Tianjin International, and 120 min from the Beijing International. Two small general aviation aerodromes—Tanggu Airport （塘沽机场） and Binhai Dongfang General Heliport (滨海东方通用直升机场)—provide offshore helicopter shuttles and other services to Port operators.

Logistics Centers, Yards and Warehouses

The Tianjin Port Container Logistics Center (天津港集装箱物流中心) is located in the north part of the Beijiang area, in 7.03 km² of reclaimed land. The Center currently hosts 42 logistics enterprises, and it has 350 hectares of yard space, 26 hectares of warehouses, or about 60% of the Port’s container handling capacity. Tianjin Port International Logistics Development Co. Ltd. , (TPL) was established in 2003 to take charge of the development and construction, operation and management of the Center.^[286]

The Tianjin Port Bulk Logistics Center (天津港散货物流中心) opened on 2000, built on 26.8 km² of former salt flats to the south of Donggu. It serves as a large storage and distribution area for coal, ore and other bulk cargoes. As of April 2011, there were 268 enterprises operating within it.^[287] The Bulk Logistics Center is being relocated south, to the Nangang area, in order to free its land for urban development (i.e. the Binhai Central New Town - 滨海中部新城)

The 12-5 plan envisages six large logistics parks in the port area by 2015: the Container Logistics and Bulk Cargo Centers will be upgraded to “Parks” (with additional policy privileges), joined by the newly established Nangang Chemical Logistics Park (南港化工物流园区), Lingang Industrial ProLogis Logistics Park (临港工业普洛斯物流园区), and the Central Fishing Port Logistics Park (中心渔港物流园区).^[288]

Intermodal Transportation and Dry Ports

The hinterland of the Tianjin Port (as determined by existing railway and road patterns) is vast. It includes the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin, and the provinces of Hebei, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai, Tibet and Xinjiang. Tianjin is also one of the railheads of the Eurasian Land Bridge.^{[note 9]} In keeping with the goal of becoming North China's Trade and Logistic Center, the Port has been expanding its intermodal transport capacity, and deepening its presence in inland regions through dedicated lines, dry ports and direct partnerships.

TPL owns and operates ten different scheduled railway routes, dispatching 50-car (100 TEU) trains to 10 different cities in China: Xi'an, Chengdu, Taiyuan, Urumqi, Baotou, Shizuishan, Erenhot, Alashankou, Manzhouli, the last three being border crossings. In the first three quarters of 2010, these dedicated train lines carried 143,000 TEU, 46,000 TEU of which went to Eurasian Bridge destinations.^[295]

Future Developments

Short Term Plans: In 2011 TPG plans to spend 13.5 billion yuan in 150 projects, including 86 new projects.^[296] The short term goals for the Tianjin Port are to achieve a cargo throughput of 430 million tons and a container throughput of 11.5 million TEU and a dry port throughput of 150,000 TEU.^[297] The 2012 goals are a cargo throughput over 460 million tons, container throughput over 13 million TEUs, with total port activity producing 100 billion RMB added value.

Middle Term Plans: For the Eleventh Five-Year plan period (2011–2015), the Tianjin Port Group plans to invest CNY45 billion (US$6.8 billion)in port and shipping facilities, with the intention of adding 214 million metric tons and 2.85 million TEU of throughput capacity.

As well as many new berths, fairway shipping lanes will be expanded to a 765 m width and 21 m depth by 2012, allowing for two-way traffic of 300,000DWT vessels. Support facilities are also being expanded, with 5.3 million square meters of container stack yard space, increased logistic processing capacity (including expansion of the dry port system), and expansion of the shipping services center. By 2015, cargo throughput should be at least 550Mt, and container throughput should be up to 17 million TEU per year.

A particularly significant part of the five year plan is the development of the Dongjiang Bonded Port Area into a true "free trade port," (自由贸易港), combining the five logistic functional areas (international transshipment, international distribution, international procurement, international entrepot trade and export processing) with the development of the shipping and trade services and the leisure and tourism areas. This would include fostering tax-free shopping,^[298] and tourism and leisure centered on the scenic area, yachting club and the Cruise Homeport.

Long Term Plans：The more long term plans for the development of Tianjin Port are both monumental in scale, and consistent with the ambitious pace of change of the last decade. According to the "2010-2030 Comprehensive Plan for the Port of Tianjin", approved in late 2010, Tianjin Port will expand to include nine port areas, the five present ones plus Gaoshaling (高沙岭港区), Dagang (大港港区) and Hangu (汉沽港区)Port Areas. This "One Port, Nine Areas" expansion will entail integrating the port areas of the already in-development Dagang TEDA Development Area, the Tianjin Lingang Economic Area and the Tianjin Central Fishing Port into the a greater Tianjin Port.

According to this plan, by 2020 Tianjin Port would extend from north (Hangu) to south (Dagang) for a distance of almost 90 km, with five independent shipping channels extending to the east all the way to the 20 m isobath line. By 2030, the planned land area of the Port will be 245 square km, with 200 km of quays and a staggering 390 production berths.^[50] If these plans are realized, almost the whole of the Tianjin Municipality coast will form a single, continuous port and logistic center built almost exclusively on reclaimed land, in all likelihood the largest artificial port on earth.

Friendship Ports

• Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Barcelona, Spain
• Incheon, South Korea
• Kobe, Japan
• Marseille, France
• Melbourne, Australia
• Montreal, Canada
• Philadelphia, USA
• Tacoma, USA
• Tokyo, Japan
• Trieste, Italy
• Zeebrugge, Belgium

Notes

References

External links

• Tianjin Port Holdings Company Limited
• Tianjin Port Development Holdings Limited
• Map of the Port of Tianjin
• Live AIS Map of the Port of Tianjin

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