A ship carrying protective masks from South Korea, arrives at Qingdao Port on Feb 2 in Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo/qingdaonews.com]

The port of Qingdao in eastern Shandong province has opened fast track lines and special service windows to speed up the clearing process for epidemic prevention and control material imports from overseas, to help win the battle against the coronavirus epidemic, local officials said.

The Panstar Genie No 2, a ro-ro vessel carrying about 12.8 tons of 9,822 boxes of protective masks from South Korea, arrived at the port on Feb 2.

At 8 am, after receiving the entry report of the ship, the Qingdao Maritime Safety Administration immediately communicated and coordinated with related units to allow the quick pilotage and entry of the ship as well as for the medical supplies to be cleared using the streamlined procedures.

According to local officials, Qingdao Port employs modern information technologies such as AIS (Automatic Identification System) and VTS (Vessel Traffic Services) to monitor, command and control the watercraft and ensure the waterway is unobstructed for ships carrying critical supplies. 

Local officials said that this was the fifth batch of emergency medical supplies and materials unloaded in Qingdao Port to help fight the spread of the disease.