Containers stockpiled at Ningbo Zhoushan Port in East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]

Ningbo Zhoushan Port handled 410 million metric tons of cargo in the first four months of this year, an increase of 4 percent year-on-year.

The port's container throughput recorded a yearly uptick of 5.2 percent to 10.95 million TEUs over the four-month period, official statistics from the Zhejiang Port and Shipping Management Center showed.

The port has maintained normal operations despite a new wave of COVID-19 outbreaks across China.

From January to April, the port's throughput volume of iron ore increased steadily even though the nation's total imports of the commodity shrunk.

Stable growth was also seen in the handling of bulk commodities including crude oil, liquefied oil products and grain during the period.

This year, the port has launched shipping routes to places including Europe and South America, bringing the total number of its container routes to 296 as of March.

In addition, efforts have been made to leverage the sea-rail combined transport mode, which refers to the mechanism where goods are first loaded onto trains to Ningbo before being transported overseas by sea, and vice versa.

Containers transported via this mode at the port hit 493,000 TEUs in the first four months of this year, up 33.5 percent year-on-year.

The port's operator has also tapped the sea-river combined transport pattern, through which 206,000 TEUs were transported at the port, up 62 percent year-on-year.