The Ministry of Communications yesterday launched a re-routing scheme for ships in the waters off Qingdao Port in East China's Shandong Province.

Part of a bid to improve maritime traffic efficiency, the new rules are especially significant for Qingdao, which will host the Olympic Sailing Regatta. Qingdao, the partner host city to Beijing for the 2008 Games, last year handled 200 million tons of goods and 107,000 ship visits.