A mainland-based shipping firm has been given the go-ahead to run a cargo service between Shanghai and Taiwan's Keelung port, the first such deal in 49 years, officials confirmed yesterday.
In keeping with Taipei's ban on direct cross-strait transport, vessels belonging to the Shanghai-based Jinjiang Shipping Company will have to go via the Japanese port of Ishigaki, in the Okinawa island group.
The mainland ship was welcome in Keelung at any time, but Jinjiang Shipping's 6,269-tonne Tungshun had yet to register an exact itinerary, Transport Ministry officials said.
The vessel will be the first mainland ship to unload cargo in Taiwan since cross-strait links were severed in 1949.
Transport officials said yesterday they hoped the new stopover plan would provide shippers in Taiwan and the mainland with a cost-effective option.
Businesses have long complained of high overhead costs and delays in getting their cargoes across the strait.