Containers await shipping at a port in Xiamen. WANG XIEYUN/CHINA DAILY

XIAMEN -- The 1,000th Silk Road Shipping voyage this year set off Monday from Xiamen, a coastal city in East China's Fujian province.

Silk Road Shipping is an alliance jointly initiated in late 2018 by dozens of ports, carriers and logistics service providers in countries along the Belt and Road (B&R).

On Monday morning, the Seaspan Lumaco called at Xiamen port, bringing imported goods including tropical fruit, hats and clothes manufactured in B&R countries. The vessel departed carrying goods such as mechanical and electronic products and raw materials to ports in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.

So far, 72 voyages from five Chinese ports have connected 96 ports in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

Xiamen is an important port for the Belt and Road Initiative. In the first five months of the year, Silk Road Shipping voyages from Xiamen port had handled more than 1 million TEUs, up 24.3 percent year-on-year.

Li Nan, deputy general manager of Fujian Silk Road Maritime Management Company, said shipping companies operating Silk Road Shipping voyages have taken measures including optimizing the routes and adding shipping space and fleets to ensure the smooth flow of goods in the post-epidemic era.