The Lina, a high-speed ro-ro passenger liner owned by the Taiwan-based Wagon Group, has been approved for Pingtan-Taipei travel by Chinese mainland authorities and will kick off its maiden voyage in early May.

The ferry will sail from Taipei to Pingtan, according to a schedule approved by the Ministry of Transport. It will transport tourists and cargo but not vehicles, sources told China News Service on Tuesday, April 23.

The Lina will join its predecessor the Haixia, which was launched in 2011 sailing between Pingtan and Taichung, to meet the increasing demand for economic and cultural communication between the mainland and Taiwan.

The Lina will make six trips every week from April to October and four from November to March, according to the released schedule.

Statistics show that in the first quarter this year, a total of 4,035 voyages were recorded by ships sailing between Fujian and Taiwan, up 9.35 percent from the same period last year, transferring more than 340,000 visitors, a decrease of 2 percent.

During the same span, airlines flying directly between Fujian and Taiwan have transported more than 187,000 people, up 1.8 percent compared with the same period last year.

As for the freight transportation sector, more than 2.8 tons of cargo was shipped through marine routes, a 10.18 percent year-on-year decline, while the volume of air cargo exceeded 5,350 tons, up 25.31 percent.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Michael Thai