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A
northern China port that is one of the world's
largest was facing the worst ice conditions in
30 years Saturday, and icebreaking ships were
working to keep the path to it open.
Some ships were having trouble reaching
the port at Tianjin - the port for China's
capital, Beijing, and the third largest in the
country, China Central Television said. Footage
showed ships on
the Bohai
Gulf working to keep shipping lanes open.
About 40 people had already been saved from
ships in danger from the ice, the state-run
Xinhua News Agency cited maritime officials as
saying.
The region has been hit by its worst winter
weather in decades over the past week, including
Beijing's coldest morning in almost 40 years and
its biggest snowfall since 1951.
Temperatures over the
next week in Beijing are forecast to remain
below freezing.
The sea ice along the coast of the Bohai
Gulf was the most serious in 30 years, China
National Radio reported Saturday afternoon.
China's transport minister, Li Shenglin, urged
authorities to work to prevent accidents, Xinhua
reported.
In 2008, the Tianjin port was among the top 15
in the world in container handling, according to
the Web site of its operator, Tianjin Port
Development Holdings Ltd. The port 60 miles
southeast of Beijing has a sprawling export zone
designed to spur the region's growth.
The past week of bitter cold already has hit
China's power companies, with officials ordering
rotating shutdowns of hundreds of factories in
central provinces to ensure sufficient power to
heat homes.
Source: The STAR
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