A CONTAINER ship loaded with cargo worth about US$13 million departed from Qingdao Port in East China’s Shandong Province on Wednesday, headed for Russia’s port city of Vladivostok.

It marked the launch of the shipping route between the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area (SCODA) and Vladivostok, which is the first shipping route from the SCODA to Russia’s Far East region.

The ship, carrying a total of 346 TEUs of cargos, including tires, daily necessities, machine parts and cosmetics, is scheduled to arrive in Vladivostok in four days. The cargo will then be transported to other cities, including Moscow.

“Compared with traditional railway transportation, the sea-rail combined transport mode has the advantages of large capacity, timeliness and strong stability. Through this mode of transportation, the transport capacity can be increased by more than three times and the transportation time can be cut in half,” said Zang Yuanqi with the management committee of SCODA.

The demonstration area operates 17 international freight-train routes, reaching 51 cities in 22 countries, including Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members and some along the Belt and Road.(Xinhua)