SHENZHEN's Chiwan Container Terminal handled 495,000 TEU in July, setting a new monthly record.

Year to date, CCT has handled 3,160,000 TEU, an increase of 17 per cent over the same period of last year.

The achievement is impressive given that hundreds of Shenzhen dock workers, demanding overtime pay at CCT, staged a sit-in strike on May 1, stopping the flow of containers through one of the world's busiest port facilities, reported The Associated Press.

The industrial action was taken by around 400 crane operators and truck drivers at CCT. The workers were said to be unhappy about wages and have accused management of failing to pay them overtime. Dockers earn US$518 a month, which is considered high against the average urban wage of $125, AP said.

CCT handed five million TEU in 2006. The terminal is a joint venture between Chiwan Wharf Holdings Limited, Hong Kong's Kerry Holdings Limited and Hidoney Development Limited.