A vessel departed from a container terminal at Nansha Port in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and headed for Brazil on Monday. It was loaded with Chinese goods, including automobiles, engineering machinery and home appliances. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A cargo vessel departed from a container terminal at Nansha Port in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and headed to Brazil on Monday, marking the first regular direct shipping route from the southern Chinese port to the eastern part of South America.

It was also the fifth international marine route newly designated for BRICS countries, helping to expand trade channels between enterprises in South American and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, port authorities said.

The vessel, the Tian Le V.42, operated by Cosco Shipping Specialized Carriers Co, was loaded with China-made high value-added goods, including automobiles, engineering machinery and home appliances.

The vessel is scheduled to dock in Victoria and Santos, Brazil, before heading to the port of Lazaro Cardenas in Mexico.

According to Nansha port authorities, at least eight multipurpose vessels will be put into operation for the route, providing two-way direct import and export services between China and South America.

The vessel, equipped with refrigerated box plugs, will ensure high-quality cold chain conditions for fruit and meat from South America to Guangzhou, according to Cosco Shipping Specialized Carriers Co, a subsidiary of Shanghai-based China Cosco Shipping Corp, the country's largest shipping company by both fleet size and sales revenue.