Port China News

China again asked the Philippines to tow away a grounded warship - a World War Two-era vessel now used as a military outpost - from a disputed shoal on Tuesday, after Manila rejected Beijing's earlier demand.Tensions have soared between the two neighbours over the South China Sea under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with Manila pivoting back to the United States, which supports the Southeast Asian nation in its maritime disputes with China.China's embassy in Manila…

Several Chinese ports are facing congestion as vessels due to call at Ningbo are being diverted and cargo processing is slowed partly due to stricter disinfection measures under China's "zero-tolerance" coronavirus policy.On Tuesday, more than 50 container vessels were queuing at Ningbo port, China's second largest marine center, Refinitiv data showed, up from 28 on Aug. 10 when a COVID-19 case was reported at one of its terminals.Leading international shipping groups have warned their clients of delays and route adjustments.

China will make a billion-dollar investment in the Brazilian port of Sao Luis via China Communications Construction Company, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said the announcement will be made at the summit of leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the so-called BRICS group of emerging nations, who are meeting in the Brazilian capital for a two-day summit.The deal will be part of the largest foreign direct investment into Brazil this year, one of the sources said, without revealing any figures.Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said on Wednesday that Brazil is seeking closer integration with China…

Malaysia's Tanjung Bruas Port (TBP), a member of MMC Group, announced that it now offers container ships services at its Tanjung Bruas Port terminal.TBP recently welcomed the MV West Scent, the first Container vessel to ever call its terminal at Tanjung Bruas Port. The 145.68 meters long MV West Scent came alongside on 18 April 2019 with an exchange of 1,150 move counts.The specially chartered Container vessel by manufacturer Xinyi Glass Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, is currently at TBP berth and will depart to Humen Port, China after completing its cargo operations. This is the first ever project undertaken by TBP in handling Containerised shipment.Captain Davidiuk Aleksandar, the Master of the Container vessel was welcomed by Mohamad Nizam Ibrahim, General Manager of TBP together with Ir.

Singapore based construction specialist of rigs, semi-submersibles and specialised offshore vessels PaxOcean held the keel laying ceremony of PSA Marine’s first dual fuel ship-handling tug  at its facility in Zhuhai, China.Earlier, Robert Allan, the designer of LNG tugs, has been selected to design the very first RAmparts 2800-DF for PSA Marine.Peter Chew, Managing Director and Lim Bock Kee, Senior General Manager (Special Projects) of PSA Marine attended the ceremony.Robert Allan designed the RAstar 4000-DF for Østensjø Rederi, Norway and RAstar 3800-DF for Ningbo Port, China. The cooperation between Robert Allanand PSA Marine began in 2002, with the design of Z-Tech tug series.PSA Marine is a marine services provider with flagship operations in Singapore.

China has denied a request for a U.S. warship to visit Hong Kong, the U.S. consulate in the Chinese city said on Tuesday, amid rising tension between Beijing and Washington over trade and a U.S. decision to sanction the Asian nation's military.The amphibious assault ship Wasp had been due to make a port call in the former British colony of Hong Kong in October, diplomatic sources said."The Chinese Government did not approve a request for a U.S. port visit to Hong Kong by the USS Wasp…

A rescue diver from China who made a series of underwater dives to rescue three people from a sunken cargo ship will receive the 2018 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery At Sea.A Panel of Judges decided that the rescue merited the highest award. The decision was endorsed by the IMO Council at its 120th session in London (2-5 July).Following a collision with another ship, in Guangzhou Port, China, in the early morning of November 27, 2017, the bulk carrier M.V.Jin Ze Lun sank. Of the 14 crew on board, two were immediately rescued by local maritime authorities but 12 remained missing.

China's super-large port Ningbo-Zhoushan, the busiest port in China, saw an annual cargo throughput of 1 billion tonnes, becoming the first one  globally to reach this volume, according to data provided by the port. The port in East China's Zhejiang province deepened cooperation with major shipping companies and harbors along the Belt and Road, adding five sea routes to raise its total to 86. It also signed cooperation agreements with 20 other ports, Xinhua reported Mao Jianhong, chairman of Ningbo Zhoushan Port Group as saying. Ningbo-Zhoushan port handled over 10 million standard containers from countries and regions along the Belt and Road this year, up 16 percent year on year, he added.

China's COSCO Shipping , owner of the world's fourth largest container fleet, took a 51 percent stake in Greece's largest port on Wednesday. The sale of Piraeus Port had been suspended by the leftist-led government when it won elections in January 2015 but talks resumed after Greece agreed an 86 billion euro bailout deal with its euro zone partners. COSCO agreed to buy 51 percent of Piraeus Port (OLP) in April for 280.5 million euros ($312.51 million) under a deal signed with the HRADF, Greece's privatisation agency. COSCO bought 51 percent of Piraeus Port (OLP) for 280.5 million euros ($312.51 million), acquiring a block of 12.75 million shares in OLP. COSCO Shipping executive Wan Min rang the opening bell at the Athens bourse at a ceremony to mark the agreement.

China COSCO Shipping, which owns the world's fourth largest container fleet in terms of capacity, is expected to wrap up the purchase of a majority stake in Greece's largest port, Piraeus Port (OLP), next week, sources close to the matter said on Friday. Under a deal signed in April between COSCO and Greece's privatisation agency (HRADF), COSCO will buy 51 percent of Piraeus for 280.5 million euros ($312.5 million). COSCO will acquire a further 16 percent stake for 88 million after five years, and once it completes mandatory investments of 300 million euros. The transfer of the 51 percent stake to COSCO through the Athens Stock Exchange will likely take place on Wednesday, an official close to the process told Reuters.

China Merchants Holdings (International) Company Limited, has announced that it has signed a share subscription agreement with Dalian Port (PDA) Co., under which Dalian Port will issue 1.1bn new shares to China Merchants for HK$4.3bn ($554m). Upon completion of the transaction, China Merchants will hold a 21.05% equity stake of Dalian Port, becoming the second largest shareholder. China Merchants Holdings, which will become Dalian Port's second-largest shareholder after the purchase, said the deal allows it to strengthen its ports network within China and enhance its port-service network. China Merchant said it has been striving to further strengthen its ports network within China…

China’s Cosco Pacific is understood to be the only party interested in the acquisition of the 51 percent stake (plus another 15 percent) of Piraeus Port Authority (OLP), reports Kathimerini. Alexis Tsipras's government had halted the sale after winning elections in January but resumed the process under the 86 billion-euro bailout deal it agreed with its euro zone partners in the summer. The deadline for final bids was 1700 GMT on Monday. The Hong Kong-listed firm was the only party to submit a timely binding offer in the context of the tender proclaimed in 2014 by the state privatization fund (TAIPED) by Monday’s deadline, four hours before it expired. All signs point to the absence of a second offer for the stake, which could have created some competition for the asset up for sale.

China has been allowed operation rights for 40 years at a port in Gwadar, a planned deep-water harbor in Pakistan. This move will give China access to Gulf countries, and the possibility of building a naval base on the Arabian Sea in future, sources revealed. Chinese Overseas Port Holdings Ltd, a subsidiary of China State Construction Engineering Corporation under the State Council, has been granted the right to operate Gwadar for 40 years. Infrastructure construction is almost complete and the port could be put into complete usage by the end of the year, Dostain Khan Jamaldini, chairman of the Gwadar Port Authority, said. It could function as a vibrant economic hub connecting China and Pakistan.

China is closely monitoring the policies of the new Greek government after Athens said this week it will stop the sale of a majority stake in Greece's biggest port, China's trade ministry said on Thursday. The Greek government last year had shortlisted China's Cosco Group as a potential buyer of a 67 percent stake in Piraeus Port Authority. But Greece stopped the sale this week, saying it would be put on hold as newly elected Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras halted privatisation plans agreed under Greece's bailout deal. "We are paying a great deal of attention," Shen Danyang, the spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce, said when asked about the suspended deal.

China's Cosco Group and five other investors have expressed interest in a majority stake in Piraeus port (OLP), the largest in the country, Greece's privatisation agency HRADF said on Monday. Cosco Group's initial interest for a 67 percent stake in OLP, is further highlighting Chinese investors' appetite for Greek assets as the state sells off parts of its businesses to go some way to balance the bailed out country's books. Greece last month picked a Chinese-backed bid to develop a prime seaside property at the former Athens airport Hellenikon.

China's Cosco Group and four other suitors have been shortlisted as potential buyers of a majority stake in Piraeus Port Authority OLP, Greek privatisation agency HRADF said on Thursday. Greece is aiming for privatisation revenues of 1.5 billion euros this year by selling a stake in OLP and in Thessaloniki Port Authority OLTH, as well as by privatising railway operator TRAINOSE, rolling stock company ROSCO and some regional airports, among other assets. The other potential OLP investors shortlisted were: U.S. terminal operator Ports America; Dutch container terminal operator APM Terminals; Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services ; and close-ended investment company Utilico Emerging Markets Limited.

Marintec China, which took place in Shanghai from December 4 to 7 2001, has proven that the show is the definitive maritime event not only in China, but also in the Asia Pacific region for the maritime industry. Figures say it all: 13,000 sq. miles of gross exhibition area, 778 participating companies from 31 countries and regions, 14 national pavilions and 22,865 unique visitors out of which 1,608 are international visitors coming from outside China. Marintec China 2001 was the largest and the most successful show ever held in its history since inception in 1981. For the first time at Marintec China 2001, all visitors were requested to register prior to admission. This was to ensure that only qualified trade visitors were allowed in and the unique number of visitors could be recorded.

Thousands of truck drivers went on strike over salary and haulage rates in the eastern Chinese port of Ningbo this week, and a logistics firm said on Friday the industrial action was disrupting operations at the world's sixth busiest port. In a statement on its official microblog account, Ningbo Port Co Ltd said the strike had started over trucking rates but declined to give further details. The company said it was taking measures to ensure that operations at the port, China's third busiest, were not disrupted and to ensure losses were kept to a minimum. Local media reported the strike began at the Beilun area of the port and that it started with a few hundred drivers and escalated on Thursday to a few thousand, who clashed with police.

China's importance in the world maritime market has accelerated rapidly over the past decade, but it appears that current and near future growth will prove even more prolific. Chinese shipyards for 10 years have continued to dent the market share numbers of major shipbuilders in Japan, Korea and Europe, and it appears that the shipyards will continue to scoop up ship repair and new ship construction business. It emerged this year as the third largest shipbuilding country in the world, with about seven percent of worldwide business as measured by compensated gross tonnage (cgt). According to a recent report from Drewry Shipping Consultants, China's shipbuilding capacity is set to increase threefold, to 3.5 million cgt, by 2005/2006.

Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) is advising that oil tankers are remaining at anchorage having been evacuated from Qingdao Port, China. Currently only the oil terminals are affected, with the exception of Dagang terminal, located at east Jiaozhou Bay. Many tankers have received changed discharge instructions from domestic receivers. Other bulk, general cargo and container terminals are operating normally. Sea contamination has extended to around three square kilometers and the oil from the explosion has leaked into Jiaozhou Bay. It is unknown at present when the oil terminal will reopen.

North China's Hebei Province recently opened the first direct cargo route to Taiwan when a cargo of 36,000 tonnes of coal left Qinghuadao Port for Taiwan Direct trade routes between China & Taiwan have been frozen for a number of years. The Wuxing 6 bulk carrier left Qinghuadao Port, China's largest coal transfer port, for the Taitung and Kaohsiung ports in Taiwan, Tuesday marking the first cargo shipment between Hebei and Taiwan. The Wuxing 6 is owned by the Qinghuangdao Wuxing Shipping Company and received approval from the mainland's Transport Ministry in April to sail directly to Taiwan.

China’s Shanghai retained its title as the world’s busiest container port for a fifth consecutive year after widening the gap with its closest rival Singapore, according to a report from Bloomberg. While, Singapore handled 33.9 million 20-foot containers last year, Shanghai’s final figure for 2014 would be about 35.2 million boxes. A year before, the gap between the two ports was about 1 million boxes. Shanghai port, which includes Waigaoqiao port, Yangshan port and Wusong port, has been the world’s busiest container since 2010 when its annual volumes surpassed that of Singapore. The report says that Shanghai, Shenzhen and other ports…