PORT GUIDE · FOR OFFICERS, MASTERS AND SHORE TEAMS
Nantong
Pilot
updated May 2010- No.8 通沙锚地 Pilot boards31°59.9′N 120°44.5′E
- No.4 南通危险品锚地 Pilot boards31°53.0′N 120°54.0′E
- No.5 南通联检锚地 Pilot boards31°55.9′N 120°52.9′E
- 南通港吕四港区进港航道登离轮区 Pilot boards31°56.0′N 122°03.8′E
- 南通港启东港航道登离轮区 Pilot boards31°42.4′N 122°05.3′E
- 南通港洋口港区烂沙洋北航道登离轮区 Pilot boards32°32.0′N 121°43.3′E
- 南通港洋口港区烂沙洋南航道小型船舶登离轮区 Pilot boards32°28.9′N 121°33.0′E
Compulsory but available during daylight hours only. Pilot boards vessel at the Baoshan anchorage (31°32'N 121°23'E).
Mariners are advised to consult the pilot to ensure that there is sufficient tide to negotiate the shallows of the S channel along Baimaosha Nan Shuidao. W bound vessels should only proceed past Lightbuoy "12A" if the channel is clear of other vessels. This is a two stage pilot service: sea pilot (CJK-Baoshan) then river pilot (Baoshan- Nantong) 9-10 hours.
Key data
updated May 2020Size limits
LOA 300m, beam 50m, draught 14.2m, 209,546DWT.
Water density
996-998.
Load line zone
Summer.
Tides
MHWS 6.38m, MLWS 0.42m, average range is 2.0m. Average speed of flood tide is 1kt, average speed of ebb tide is 2.5kts.
Max draft per terminal
| Terminal | Max draught | Max LOA | Berths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xinshijie Terminal | 14.20 m | 229 m | 5 |
| Nantong Cereals & Oils | — | 245 m | 2 |
| Drawshine Petrochemical Terminal | — | 243 m | 1 |
| Nantong Huada Petrochemical Terminal | 13.00 m | 229 m | 3 |
| Nantong Port Group Tonghai Port | — | 206 m | 4 |
| Nantong Container Terminal (NTCT) | — | 145 m | 3 |
| Winsway Petroleum & Chemical Terminal | 10.40 m | 225 m | 1 |
| Eastern Petrochemical Terminal | 10.20 m | 205 m | 2 |
| Jianghai Tank Terminal | 10.20 m | 256 m | 1 |
| Sinochem (Huifeng) terminal | 10.20 m | 190 m | 2 |
| Yanghong Petrochemical Terminal | 10.20 m | 229 m | 2 |
| Qianhong Tank Terminal | 10.00 m | 190 m | 1 |
| Rugao Suzhong International Container Terminal | — | 183 m | 6 |
| Huasheng Terminal | 9.00 m | 205 m | 1 |
| Qianxiang Tank Terminal | — | — | 1 |
All 41 terminals
| Terminal | Max draught | Max LOA | Berths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shenhua Chemical Industry Co. Terminal. | 6.50 m | 110 m | 1 |
| Huayang Chemical Terminal | 6.00 m | 130 m | 1 |
| Nantong Changjiang Fuel Oil Cleaning Terminal | — | — | 1 |
| Baosteel Logistics (Jiangsu) | — | — | 1 |
| Dagang Terminal | — | — | 2 |
| Haimen CONCH | — | — | 2 |
| Huafa Terminal | — | — | 1 |
| Huaneng Fly Ash Company | — | — | 1 |
| Huaneng Nantong Power Plant | — | 235 m | 2 |
| Jiangsu OJI Paper | — | 229 m | 3 |
| Lu Jing Nantong Port | — | 190 m | 1 |
| Nantong CONCH | — | — | 1 |
| Nantong Jiangshan Agrochemical & Chemicals (JSAC) | — | 145 m | 1 |
| Nantong Port Group Jianghai Port | — | 300 m | 4 |
| Nantong Port Group Langshan Port | — | 229 m | 5 |
| Nantong Port Group Tongzhou Port | — | 240 m | 3 |
| Nantong Youli Concrete | — | — | 1 |
| Nantong Zhongji (CIMC) | — | 169 m | 2 |
| Rugao Port Group Universal Terminal | — | 300 m | 5 |
| Tianshenggang Power Plant | — | 200 m | 2 |
| Zhongtian Technology Submarine Cable Plant (ZTTSC) | — | 138 m | 1 |
| CNOOC Biolux Terminal | — | 141 m | 1 |
| Nantong Yide Port | — | 229 m | 2 |
| Tonglu Terminal Nantong Tianshenggang Generate Electricity | — | 224 m | 1 |
| Xin Da Gang | — | 238 m | 1 |
| Ninghui Terminal | — | 126 m | 1 |
Deepest first. The draught is the largest any of the terminal's berths states; a dash means the source gives none.
Approach
updated May 2020Approach
The Baoshan Channel has a depth of 10.5m with a draught limitation of 9.7m FW. The Tongzhousha Channel also has a draught limitation of 9.7m FW.
Channels: The total length of the channel linking No 30 Floating Light on Nantong Channel, Laohaiba Light Stake and the channel linking Liuqian with the signpost at the mouth of Shiqiao River is 98.8km. This part of the channel, situated in Area A of the downstream of Yangtze River, is wide, strong and sensitive to tides. Vessels navigating in this part of the channel pass Baimaosha, Liuhaisha and Tongzhousha and then arrive at the river port of Nantong. The maximum capacity of vessels navigating the channel is 50,000DWT and draught generally does not exceed 10.5m FW.
Traffic schemes and VTS
Note: It is reported that Nanzhi Hangdao Channel is no longer maintained and can only take vessels of less than 2,000t.
Anchorages
No 1 Joint Inspection mooring is suitable for 5 vessels with capacity for 25,000-30,000DWT. Oil tankers suitable for 2 x 7,000DWT.
No 2 mooring is suitable for 150 vessels of max 5,000DWT.
Restrictions
Entry or departure after sunset is not possible; usually the sailing time is before 1400hrs every day.
Tugs
There are 14 tugs available up to 4,000hp.
Charts and publications
BA 1604, 1605,1281. Admiralty Pilot NP32, NP286(6).
Reporting before arrival
updated Mar 2018ETA and pre-arrival notices
The Master should advise the vessel's ETA to the state agent or through the local agent to the state agency, 72, 48 and 24 hours prior to the vessel's arrival at the pilot station. The ETA message should include the time and date of the vessel's arrival and salt/fresh water draughts.
If there is any dangerous cargo onboard, the Master should also report details of that cargo including description, packaging, IMO code and gross/net weight.
Should the vessel's ETA or other circumstances change, prior to arrival, the Master should send further messages.
Note: In the above table LA = local agent, IM = Immigration office, CH = Customs House, QI = Quarantine Inspection office, AP = Animal and Plant Inspection office, HM = Harbour Master.
The vessel's agent will send instructions to inbound vessels through the coast radio station being used or via Inmarsat. The instructions usually include the time and position of the pilot boarding. The Master is required to confirm receipt of messages to avoid delays to the vessel.
Communications
Vessels calling at Chinese ports are recommended to use Shanghai Radio (callsign "XSG") and Tianjin Radio (callsign "XSV") for passing messages at long range. Both stations work throughout 24 hours. Inmarsat communication is possible through Shanghai.
VHF: Port: Ch 06, 10.
Pilot station: Ch 09.
Nantong VTS: Ch 06, 69.
Wusong Vessel Traffic Service (VTS): Sector 1, Ch 71; Sector 2, Ch 09.
Agent: Ch 11, throughout 24 hours, callsign "Penavico Nantong".
Notice of readiness
Normally NOR should be tendered according to the relevant clause in the Charter Party. If there is no special clause then it should be tendered according to the actual working hours of the port.
Health
Once the vessel arrives in port, the Quarantine officer boards to carry out an inspection.
Before pratique is granted, the vessel must fly the Interco "Q" flag and no crew are allowed to proceed ashore.
Ship Sanitation Control Certificates and Exemption Certificates can be renewed in all Chinese ports licensed for handling international vessels.
Customs and immigration
Allowances: The allowances for officers and crew are 2 cartons of cigarettes and 2 bottles of liquid which must be included in the Crew's Effects Declaration to the Customs House. There is a penalty for non compliance. The punishment for additional liquids varies according to the brand.
Immigration: Shore Passes are issued to each crew member after the Master has submitted/shown all the necessary documentation required to the Immigration Officer. This includes General Declaration, Crew's Effects Declaration, Crew List and passports.
Crew are allowed to proceed ashore with a Shore Pass and their passport. All crew must be back onboard by 2359hrs. The crew are restricted to the city area and will be fined if they proceed outside this area. All foreign crew members should obey all the laws and practices of the PRC.
Flags
The national flag of the PRC, which is not old, damaged or colour faded, must be displayed in addition to normal Interco flags. Other flags are not to be displayed without permission from the Harbour Master.
Inspections
Port State Control here: Tokyo MOU.
Running now: the Paris and Tokyo MOU concentrated inspection campaign on cargo securing, 1 September to 30 November 2026. Its questions are published: the questionnaire.
ISPS
ISPS Designated Authority: Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Department of Water Transportation.
Contact: Senior Marine Officer.
Address: 11 Jian Guo Men Nei Av, Beijing, 100736, China.
Tel: +86 01 652 92626.
Fax: +86 01 652 92642.
Email: [email protected]
For further ISPS information see IMO website http://www.imo.org
Port services
updated Mar 2018Repairs
Available.
Bunkers, water and stores
Fresh water: Available from fixed installations at each berth.
Bunkers: Available with prior notice.
Stores: Available with prior notice.
Medical
The No 1 People's Hospital, 2km.
Crew change
Feasible. A visa, which takes 1 day, is necessary at Nantong.
Transport
Nearest airport: Rugas Airport, 50km, Shanghai approx 100km or Nanjing.
Working hours
Throughout 24 hours. Shift 1: 0800-1600hrs, shift 2: 1600-2359hrs, shift 3: 0001-0800hrs.
About Nantong
updated Sep 2026Where it is
Nantong is located on the N bank of the Changjiang (Yangtze River), at the entrance.
The port
The port is divided into 8 areas along the river, which are Rugao, Tiansheng, Tongzhou, Rengang, Langshan, Fumingang, Jianghai and Tonghai. With over 100 berths the port is rapidly becoming a major ship repair port and is expanding into ship building. Two coastal port areas are being developed at Yangkou and Lusi to handle inbound and outbound sea trade, see separate entries.
The port is also an important transhipment centre with a variety of cargo and craft handled including most types of river steamers and passenger craft. Principal cargoes handled are general, liquid and break bulk cargo.
Traffic
Approx 290,410,000t of cargo and 2,700,000TEU handled annually.
Questions about Nantong
Where does the pilot board at Nantong?
The pilot boards at No.8 通沙锚地, 31°59.9′N 120°44.5′E. Nantong has 7 pilot boarding places.
What time zone is Nantong in?
Local time at Nantong is UTC+8. No summer time.
What is the maximum draft at Nantong?
The deepest berth listed is at Xinshijie Terminal: 14.20 m maximum draught. The "Max draft per terminal" table gives each terminal's figure.
What is the water density at Nantong?
996-998.
Which load line zone is Nantong in?
Summer.
Who carries out Port State Control at Nantong?
Port State Control at Nantong: Tokyo MOU.
What is the UN/LOCODE of Nantong?
The UN/LOCODE of Nantong is CNNTG.
Tips from seafarers
What crews who called at Nantong say: pilot boarding, the agent's papers, inspections, shore leave. Each tip is shown with the writer's rank and ship type, and an AI summary sits on top once there are three or more.
A planning aid, not for navigation. These facts come from public sources and each section shows how old it is. Check with the port, your agent, your ENCs and official publications. Spotted something wrong? Tell us on the feedback board.