On 10 October 2026, Xinhua Daily reported that on 30 September, under Nanjing Customs’ Zhenjiang office, the vessel Zhonggu 1 sailed from Zhenjiang Port’s Dagang terminal with 476 pieces of cargo—mainly steel structures, drills and generator sets—bound for Morebaya Port in Guinea. The sailing is described as Zhenjiang’s first direct export service to Guinea and a new West Africa outbound channel for Yangtze riverside exporters.
Zhenjiang Port Group’s production business head Zhang Yuzhong said the line uses the port’s river–sea hub and deep-water anchorage so hinterland factories can barge cargo to Zhenjiang instead of detouring through coastal hubs. Versus earlier routings of nearly three months, the direct path is said to compress transit to about 50–60 days and cut transshipment logistics cost.
Zhenjiang Customs coordinated with the municipal commerce bureau, MSA and the port group before launch, using a one-case-one-discussion support plan and a one-ship-one-plan approach for document checks and stowage. Logistics section chief Chang Wugang said cargo this sailing was mainly equipment and steel, and that customs promoted direct-load / direct-release facilitation to shorten clearance time.
The report also links the lane to two-way flows around Guinea’s Simandou iron-ore project—Chinese project cargo outbound and related return demand. For sourcing and project-logistics managers serving West Africa from Jiangsu inland plants, Zhenjiang’s direct option is worth quoting alongside coastal breakbulk or container strings when equipment does not need a Shanghai/Ningbo hub call.