The Permanent Mission of Iran to the United Nations issued a statement on 25 March announcing that qualified non-hostile vessels would be allowed safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The condition is that the country to which the ship belongs or is associated with shall not participate in or support an act of aggression against Iran, and must fully comply with Iran's published security regulations and coordinate with relevant Iranian authorities. The move clarifies Iran's policy stance on key waterways.

On March 21, the day and night throughput of Shandong Port Bohai Bay Port Binzhou Port exceeded 100000 tons for the first time, reaching 102160 tons, setting a new record since the opening of the port. In the face of the concentrated arrival of oil, LPG and bulk cargo ships, the port area through the "set mooring hot connection" mode to reduce the berthing time, and in cooperation with maritime, customs and other units to achieve efficient synchronous operation of a number of dangerous chemical ships. The operation units are closely linked to optimize the customs clearance process and production organization, significantly improving the operation efficiency, marking a new level of port production organization and comprehensive support capacity.

In February 2024, Hebei Port Group Tangshan Port Jingtang Port Bonded Logistics Center (Type B) achieved an import and export trade volume of 2.5 billion billion yuan, ranking first among 89 similar centers in the country, setting a record high. Relying on the advantages of a deep-water port, the center has realized the simultaneous improvement of business scale and quality by optimizing the customs clearance process and focusing on the main business of commodity bonded logistics, especially steel bonded warehousing and other characteristic businesses. In the future, the center will continue to strengthen the platform function, is committed to building the country's leading commodity bonded logistics hub, to help the high-quality development of regional foreign trade.

Shanghai Nangang Wharf successfully completed the first batch of energy storage cabinets for shipment and export, marking a new channel for energy storage cabinets to go to sea in the Yangtze River Delta region. The 46 energy storage cabinets exported this time weigh 43 tons and are shipped to Europe together with a total of 717 pieces of equipment such as wind power equipment. The terminal has obtained the only export qualification of energy storage cabinet in Shanghai through special upgrading, which provides an efficient and low-cost shipping export scheme for the port energy storage industry cluster. At the same time, the border inspection department implements the whole chain supervision to ensure the safety of dangerous goods transportation.

Mohammed Buhati, a member of the political Bureau of the Houthi armed forces in Yemen, said that in order to support Iran's resistance to the military strikes by the United States and Israel, the organization is considering all possible options, including blocking the strategically important Mande Strait. Buhati stressed that if the blockade is taken, it will only target ships from countries involved in attacks on Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine. The Strait of Mande is a key waterway connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. It is known as the "throat" connecting the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Indian Oceans. It is vital to global shipping and the Eurasian-African trade corridor.

The global container ship hand-held order volume has reached a record high, with more than 1350 and 11.8 million TEU, mainly undertaken by Chinese shipping enterprises. Despite trade policy uncertainty and declining freight rates, new ship orders continued to grow, with ultra-large ships dominating, while orders for small and medium-sized ships also increased rapidly. Handheld orders account for more than 35% of the existing fleet, raising concerns about future market overcapacity. BIMCO predicts that the delivery of new ships will increase the size of the fleet by about 6.1 per cent annually, putting pressure on the balance between supply and demand.

From January to February 2024, the cargo throughput of Jiaxing Port increased by 17.91 year-on-year, and the throughput of foreign trade cargo and containers also achieved substantial growth. This is due to a number of precise measures taken by Jiaxing Maritime Safety Administration: to solve the problem of "detour" of foreign ships through cross-domain coordination and to improve navigation efficiency; Provide "non-closing" government services and joint boarding and inspection to reduce enterprise costs; Strengthen the safety supervision of old ships and build a strong line of defense. It also helps the opening of new routes and the efficient sailing of "new three kinds" of goods, providing a strong guarantee for the port to "good start.

China's first "the People's Republic of China Ecological Environment Code" was officially promulgated, in which several chapters systematically regulate the transportation and water transportation industry. The Code sets up a special section on the prevention and control of ship pollution in the sub-sections of "Water pollution Prevention" and "Marine pollution Prevention", which sets clear requirements for the discharge of pollutants from ships, the equipment of pollution prevention equipment and port reception facilities, and sets corresponding legal responsibilities, marking that China's inland river and marine environmental protection has entered a new stage of stricter rule of law.

Recently, UnionLink Cross-Border Intelligent Transport signed a strategic cooperation agreement with UPS (United Parcel Service). Zhou Jianming, Deputy General Manager of UnionLink Cross-Border Intelligent Transport, and Wu Yushan, Director of Supply Chain Business Development at UPS, represented both parties in completing the signing. UnionLink Cross-Border Intelligent Transport's General Manager Zeng Tianwang, Operations Director Jiang Xianbin, UPS Asia-Pacific Project Customer Sales Director Wei Chao, and Business Development Department Key Account Manager Su Jiannan, along with other representatives from both sides, attended the signing ceremony. The two parties engaged in in-depth discussions on topics such as the construction of cross-border supply chain service systems and empowerment paths for vertical industrial belts, jointly outlining a new blueprint for cross-border logistics cooperation characterized by complementary advantages and industrial synergy.

Recently, the "Henan Lion Camp-Rizhao Port" sea-rail intermodal chemical franchise channel was officially opened. This channel is an important measure for Rizhao Port to respond to the national policy of "turning from revolution to railway" and integrate into the development strategy of the Yellow River Basin. It has created an efficient, stable and green new channel for high value-added chemicals in the Central Plains. Through customized logistics scheme and closed-loop management, the whole transportation time of goods is reduced by more than 40%, which significantly improves logistics efficiency and customer satisfaction.

The International Maritime Organization warned that sending warships to escort the Strait of Hormuz is not a long-term and sustainable solution and cannot fully ensure the safe passage of ships. The organization will hold a special meeting to discuss regional maritime risks. As a key channel for global energy transportation, the Strait of Hormuz has a huge daily crude oil transportation volume. Recently, the security of the Strait of Hormuz has plummeted due to the military attack on Iran by the United States and Israel. The United States has called for multinational convoys but has received little response, and the International Energy Agency has agreed to release strategic oil reserves to stabilize the market.

On March 13, the Director of the Department of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce, Zhao Chunfeng, and his delegation conducted a study on the "Xianfeng Qihang" comprehensive service for going abroad at Zhongguancun Fengtai Park. The research team first visited IBI, where they were warmly received by IBI's director, senior vice president, and board secretary Pan Yong, among other leaders. The delegation visited the IBI digital economy exhibition hall, and both parties exchanged views on cross-border industry-related content, gaining an in-depth understanding of IBI's practices in the field of cross-border industries. Pan Yong, using cases, data, and application scenarios displayed in the exhibition hall, focused on introducing the company's core layout in cross-border industrial zones, digital service models, and cross-border activities.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other three departments issued a notice to deploy and carry out the pilot work of comprehensive application of hydrogen energy. The notice proposes to select urban agglomerations to take the lead in pilot projects by means of "unveiling the list", with the goal of realizing the large-scale application of hydrogen energy in diversified fields by 2030, striving to reach 100000 fuel cell vehicles nationwide, and reducing the cost of terminal hydrogen. The move aims to promote the large-scale and high-quality development of the hydrogen energy industry through scenario traction and policy support, cultivate new kinetic energy for economic growth, and help the green transformation of traditional industries.

From January to February 2026, China's total social electricity consumption reached 1654.6 billion kWh, an increase of 6.1 percent over the same period last year, indicating a sustained economic recovery. In terms of industries, the fastest growth rate of electricity consumption in the tertiary industry reached 8.3 per cent, with electricity consumption in the charging and switching services and Internet data services surging by 55.1 per cent and 46.2 per cent respectively. The electricity consumption of the secondary industry increased by 6.3, and the electricity consumption of the high-tech and equipment manufacturing industry increased by 10.6 year-on-year, highlighting the strong momentum of industrial upgrading. The domestic electricity consumption of urban and rural residents maintained steady growth.

During the Spring Festival transportation in 2026, the cargo volume of the Yangtze River trunk line exceeded 0.4 billion tons, an increase of 6.33 percent over the same period last year, sending 7.33 million passengers. The article focuses on the growth of key material transportation such as thermal coal and containers, as well as the strong recovery of water tourism passenger transport. At the same time, it expounds the measures taken by the waterway department to ensure the safety and efficiency of navigation through digital means, and summarizes the successful experience of achieving the goal of "zero accident" in water traffic during the Spring Festival.