Chinese News Agency News

Drop in commodity prices has slashed global demand for bulk carriers, pushing shipyards out of business, says Chinese news agency Caixin. Huai Jinpeng, a vice minister from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which oversees the sector said that the industry is plagued by excess capacity even after many large private ship makers have gone bankrupt or stopped production. China alone will build ships with a total carrying capacity of 80 million tons next year, equal to the forecasted increase in global demand, estimates from the ministry showed. In the first 10 months of 2015, Chinese ship builders have received orders for new vessels totaling 20.3 million tons…

China's Qingdao port said on Wednesday it is investigating whether iron ore warehouse receipts were fraudulently used multiple times to raise finance from different banks, Xinhua news agency reported. The probe is focussed on one trader with iron ore receipts, the Chinese news agency said. It follows a broad investigation earlier this year by Chinese authorities into the use of iron ore as collateral in financing deals. While Xinhua reported that the probe was limited to iron ore financing, trading and warehousing sources have told Reuters it was also looking at the suspected multiple use of copper and aluminium warehouse receipts to raise financing.

Vietnam pledged on Saturday to quell any outbreak of violence after protests against Beijing this week devastated key industrial centers, due to discontent with the Asian giant oil drilling in a disputed area in the South China Sea South. The principal investigator of the Vietnamese police defended the security forces, accused of failing to control disorder and said "illegal acts" will not tolerate a day before planned protests against China in its major cities. Hoang Kong Tu said to the media that the authorities would apply the full force of the law and that the violence Tuesday and Wednesday would not be repeated, when groups of protesters attacked industrial parks in three provinces vital for the economy and exports Vietnamese.

Shanghai port container throughput rose 3.3 percent to a record 33.6 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) last year, according to official data just published, reports Xinua. According to the Chinese news agency, the city first became the world’s biggest container port in 2010 when it surpassed Singapore, and 2013 also saw a range of achievements in Shanghai shipping: the official opening of two-way traffic in the main channel of Yangshan Deep-water Port in October could help shipping lines save on costs and further boost turnover for Shanghai…

Unusually thick sea ice on Laizhou Bay in east China's Shandong Province strands coastal ships. Zheng Dong, chief meteorologist at the Yantai Marine Environment Monitoring Center under the State Oceanic Administration informs that the ice this year is the worst the area has experienced in three years, and the expanding ice field has expanded to 291 square km and is expected to grow, according to Xinhua. Local aquafarmers are concerned that the ice is thicker than in years past, which may lead to heavy losses, as the they are unable to penetrate the ice to provide adequate ventilation for sea cucumbers and other aquatic organisms. Coastal police warn that the ice may cause damage to vessels passing through deeper sea areas near the Bohai and Yellow seas.

A Macau to Hong Kong jetfoil hit a marker beacon in poor visibility while exiting the Macau Outer Harbour entrance channel. The ferry with 177 passengers and 8 crew on board at the time of the incident was towed back to the terminal with reportedly minor structural damage. Twenty-six injured passengers aged between four and sixty were admitted to the Centro Hospitalar Conde de São Januário for treatment. Ferry services from Macau were suspended for 45 minutes. Shun Tak Holdings, operate the 24-hour ferry service between Hong Kong and Macau under the brand name TurboJet.

Syria's ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel-Karim Ali expressed his government's gratitude to the Lebanese Army and security apparatuses for seizing the ship suspected of smuggling weapons for the Syrian rebels, the National News Agency (NNA) informed the official Chinese News Agency. Lutfallah II, a Sierra Leonean-flagged vessel was intercepted by the Lebanese Navy on April 27. Weapons were found aboard its three containers. As a result, 21 people were charged and 14 are in custody. "However, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, in the words of their own foreign ministers, announced backing the (Syrian) fighters and the opposition," he added.

China opposes Philippines' decision to draw a third party into the incident over Huangyan Island as the move will further escalate the situation and even change nature of the issue according to a Chinese Foreing Ministry spokesman. Instead China has consistently used diplomatic means to urge the Philippines to correct its mistake, says Xinhua, the officieal Chinese News Agency. China has voiced "firm opposition" to the Philippines' decision to draw a third party into the incident over Huangyan Island. A recent Philippine media report quoted the country's foreign affairs secretary as saying that some countries are helping the Philippines to establish a "minimum credible defense posture" to complement its diplomatic capacity in dealing with territorial disputes with China.

According to a Feb. 7 report from Chinese news agency, Xinhua, China State Shipbuilding Co. (CSSC), the nation's biggest shipyard, launched three self-developed models of liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships. The three LNG vessels, with a capacity of 160,000 cubic meters, 175,000 cubic meters, and 220,000 cubic meters, are built to meet the increasing shipping demand as the world's economy is on the track of recovery, said the CSSC. (Source: Xinhua)