China Ocean Shipping News

American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has granted Approval in Principle (AIP) for a design for a wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) for China Ocean Shipping Company Limited (COSCO) by Friede and Goldman (F&G).According to ABS, the design is suitable for all offshore wind markets and is capable of installing 15 MW and larger-sized turbines. It can be equipped with F&G’s BargeRack feeder barge system to support Jones Act-compliant operations in the U.S. that has previously received an AIP from ABS.

The Port of Los Angeles hit a new volume record in June as U.S. businesses race to replenish stocks and build inventories for the back-to-school, Christmas and other holiday shopping seasons.Total volume at the Port of Los Angeles hit 876,430 20-foot equivalent units (TEU) in June, up 27% versus the year earlier, port authorities said. Loaded imports accounted for more than half that, at 467,763 TEU.The port sent 312,600 TEU of empty containers to factories in China and elsewhere.

China’s largest offshore oil and gas producer China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and Chinese state-owned shipping and logistics giant China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement.Capt. Xu Lirong, Chairman of COSCO Shipping, Wang Dongjin, Chairman of CNOOC, Mr. Fu Gangfeng, Director of the Board and President of COSCO shipping and Xu Keqiang, Vice President of CNOOC witnessed the signing of the agreement.Huang Xiaowen, Executive Vice President of COSCO Shipping and Ms. Wen DongFen, Chief Accountant of CNOOC inked the agreement on behalf of the two sides.Han Jun, Assistant to the President of COSCO Shipping and Chairman of COSCO Shipping Logistics…

Canadian National Railway (CN) announced that COSCO Shipping has chosen CN to be the exclusive rail provider for the Chinese state-owned shipping company's discharge at the Ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, Montreal, and Halifax to all currently served CN destinations.“We are proud that CN’s supply chain logistics and focus on growth has earned the continued trust of COSCO shipping’s business,” said Keith Reardon, senior vice-president of consumer product supply chain at CN.“This is yet another strategic contract signed recently. By choosing CN to service all inland destinations on the network, COSCO will be well positioned to benefit from a unique tri-coastal access.

Clean Arctic Alliance has sent its second letter to Cosco, in which the NGOs urge the Chinese liner company to make public what fuel types its vessels use in the Arctic.Responding to reports that the 190m-long COSCO-owned cargo vessel Tian’en is due to arrive in the Swedish port of Gävle on August 18, having traversed the Arctic’s Northern Sea Route between the Pacific and the Atlantic, Clean Arctic Alliance Lead Advisor Sian Prior said: “Earlier this year, the Clean Arctic Alliance wrote to COSCO requesting it make public the nature of the fuel that the Tian’en, and other COSCO vessels planning on transiting the Northern Sea Route, will be using and carrying through Arctic waters.

China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (Cosco Shipping) started shipment of Toyota exhibits, which will be displayed at the 1st China International Import Expo (CIIE), at Honmoku Pier, Yokohama in Japan.Cosco Shipping (Japan) and Cosco Shipping Lines (Japan) provided transport service for these exhibits, the company said in its press release.This first batch of exhibits, which are the latest models of Toyota, were loaded in flat rack containers and carried by M.V. China Shipping Tokyo from Yokohama to Shanghai.To ensure smooth transportation for this Expo, Cosco Shipping (Japan) and Cosco Shipping Lines (Japan) have customized total logistics…

Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) diverts more shipbuilding work to its joint-venture yards in China, local media says. According to a report in Nikkei, KHI will step up commercial shipbuilding in China and scale down production in Japan to improve cost competitiveness as the market rebounds from a yearslong slump. The Japanese firm plans a 50% capacity boost at a shipyard in Dalian, Liaoning Province, that builds mainly large ships, including tankers and bulk carriers. The facility is jointly operated with China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co., also known as Cosco. More than 20 billion yen ($176 million) will be invested at the site, including construction of a second dock about 550 meters long.

Shell Marine said it has been awarded China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company’s (COSCO SHIPPING) largest marine lubricants order in 2017. This order will include the full range of marine lubricants and technical services for seven out of COSCO SHIPPING’S 10 new generation Ultra Large Container Carriers (ULCCs) with capacities of approximately 20,000 TEUs each, ordered in 2015 and due to be in service from 2018-2019. Shell Marine has supplied marine lubricants and services to over 140 COSCO SHIPPING vessels since 2004.

With the aim to dominate maritime industry China has been acquiring overseas ports with huge investments which crossed USD 20 bln last year, Financial Times reported. Beijing has spent billions expanding its ports network to secure sea lanes and establish itself as a maritime power, says the report. China is aggressively pushing its  “One Belt One Road”, a grand scheme to win diplomatic allies and open markets in around 65 countries between Asia and Europe. It is pushing ahead with plans to open new shipping routes through the Arctic circle, the report said. The report quoted a study by Grisons Peak, a London-based investment bank, found that Chinese companies have announced plans to buy or invest in nine overseas ports in the year to June in projects valued at a total of $20.1bn.

Chinese Shipping Major Cosco Group has agreed in principle to buy its shipping rival and  Hong Kong’s No. 1 box mover, Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), in deal that could be valued around USD 6.3 billion. The takeover will catapult Cosco the world’s third-biggest container carrier after Denmark’s Maersk Line and Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Co. In a press release, the State-owned Cosco said that it will pay shareholders of OOCL,, HK$78.67 a share in cash, a 31 percent premium over the stock’s last closing price. According to Reuters,  OOIL's controlling shareholders had on Friday agreed to sell their 68.7 percent stake at that price to COSCO Shipping, which is making the offer with Shanghai Port International Group (SIPG) that will take 9.9 percent, they said.

The Vancouver International Maritime Centre (VIMC) is on a mission to grow the city and port into one of the world’s premiere maritime centers. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News recently spoke with Kaity Arsoniadis-Stein, Executive Director of the newly re-established VIMC, for her insights on the pace and direction of the initiative. Let’s start out easily. Why Vancouver? Why now? Why Vancouver? Projections and studies indicate that global trade will increase and shift to the Pacific due to the demand of resources by China and India.

COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry Co is planning to cut the number of shipyards that are able to manufacture offshore engineering products from five to two by 2020, China Daily reported. China's third largest shipbuilder by output makes this move as the company's latest effort to cut overcapacity, since the global market is unlikely to see a notable upturn anytime soon. Under the plan, its shipyards in Nantong, Zhoushan and Dongguan will be shut down. The company will keep manufacturing bases in Qidong and Dalian as they are capable of producing high-end offshore engineering products such as polar ships, oil drilling platforms and cattle carriers. A few months ago, China Cosco Shipping Group has integrated all of its shipbuilding assets into one unit – Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry (CSHI).

TTS Group announced the delivery of the first of four shipset of TTS deck equipment to COSCO Shanghai Shipyard. In April 2015, Shanghai Shipyard Co. Ltd., part of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), ordered various TTS deck equipment for four 28.000 DWT Multipurpose Heavy Lift Vessels. The first official hand over took place this week end. The vessels are part of the ongoing fleet extension program of China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO). COSCO already operates eight identically constructed vessels (Da Type 3) with a maximum lifting capacity of 700t in tandem operation – the largest cranes in the fleet, all made by TTS NMF. Each ship is equipped with two heavy lift cranes of proven TTS NMF type DK II with SWL 350t and one TTS NMF type DK II SWL 100t lifting capacity.

Australia & New Zealand Banking Corp (ANZ) has agreed to sell its 20 percent stake in Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank (SRCB) for US$1.33bn. China Cosco Shipping Corp and Shanghai Sino-Poland Enterprise Management Development Corp had each agreed to acquire 10 percent of SRCB. The sale comes as the bank moves to shrink its business and scale back its presence in the region. ANZ said the sale will not have a meaningful impact on its balance sheet, with the price broadly in line with the value of the asset in ANZ's annual accounts. No comment was immediately available from China Cosco Shipping or Sino-Poland. State-owned China Cosco Shipping has amassed stakes in several Chinese banks and financial companies, says a report in FT.

Sino-Global Shipping America, a non-asset based global shipping and freight logistic integrated solution provider,  has announced the signing of an Inland Transportation Agreement  with COSCO Beijing International Freight Co in which COSFRE Beijing will utilize the Company's full-service logistics platform to arrange for the transport of its container shipments into US ports. In addition to the Agreement with COSCO Beijing, the Company has entered into a Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement with Sinotrans Guangxi, a subsidiary of Sinotrans Limited. Pursuant to the Agreement with COSFRE Beijing, Sino-Global will receive a percentage…

Breakbulk carrier COSCO Shipping has rebranded as COSCO Shipping Special Transport and launched its largest semi-submersible vessel to date, the Xin Guang Hua, reports Xinhua News Agency. Xin Guang Hua, capable of carrying 100,000 tonnes of cargo, is 255 meters long and 68 meters wide. Guangzhou Shipyard International Company, the builder, delivered the ship to Cosco Shipping Specialized Carriers Co. Ltd, a member of China Ocean Shipping Group, in the southern city of Guangzhou. Semi-submersible ships are mainly used to transport large cargo such as maritime platforms and can also be used in salvage missions. Cosco Shipping Specialized Carriers Co. has eight semi-submersible ships, with loading capacity ranging from 20,000 tons to 100,000 tons.

Asia’s largest container shipping company China Cosco Holdings Co  posted a net loss of Yuan7.2bn ($1.1bn) for the first six months of 2016, reversing the Yuan2bn net profit seen during the same period last year as excess capacity dragged down cargo rates. China COSCO is part of China Cosco Shipping Corporation (COSCOCS), a shipping giant created earlier this year from the state-driven merger of former rivals China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company and China Shipping Group. China COSCO said in a statement that global container shipping market has been sluggish since the second half of 2015, with freight rates at record lows. While revenues rose by 2.6 per cent to Yuan29.63bn for the six months ended June, costs rose by more than 16 per cent to Yuan31.13bn.

China COSCO Holdings Co Ltd fell to a first-half loss hurt by a persistent slump in the global container market, the world's fourth largest container shipper said on Thursday. COSCO Shipping reported a first-half loss of 7.2 billion yuan ($1.08 billion yuan) versus a profit of 1.9 billion a year earlier, the company said in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange. COSCO is grappling with weak global demand that has dragged down the sector. In the first quarter, it reported a net loss of 4.5 billion yuan. China COSCO is part of China Cosco Shipping Corporation (COSCOCS), a shipping giant created earlier this year from the state-driven merger of former rivals China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company and China Shipping Group.

China's biggest shipping and logistics company Cosco has pledged a total ban on transporting shark's fins,  says SCMP. It called the move a "body blow" to the international shark's fin trade. In a letter addressed to the Hong Kong branch of the US-based wildlife conservation group WildAid obtained by the Sunday Morning Post, China Ocean Shipping Company (Cosco Shipping) “pledges to implement” a “no shark fin” policy. Kang Bingjian, a company spokesman, confirmed the letter and the policy change, but could not give a time frame for the move. COSCO Shipping’s commitment follows concerns raised by WildAid and other wildlife conservation groups after Hong Kong Customs officials seized nearly 1 ton of fins from endangered hammerhead sharks…

EU antitrust regulators accepted on Thursday an offer from Maersk, the world's largest container shipping liner, and 13 other competitors to change their pricing practices. The companies agreed to publish binding actual rates 31 days before they go into effect, with the figures acting as a price ceiling. Under the current system, they only publish the amount of the increase, not the final price. The other 13 firms are No.2 player MSC, No. 3 CMA CGM, Germany's Hapag Lloyd and Hamburg Sud…

Wärtsilä has been awarded the contract to supply newbuild Chinese container vessels with a total of 24 9-cylinder Wärtsilä 32 Auxpac generating sets. The engines will power six 21,000 TEU ships being built at the Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipyard (SWS) for China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL). The order was placed in June with Wärtsilä's joint venture company CSSC Wärtsilä Engine (Shanghai) Co Ltd (CWEC). Because of its reliability, efficiency, and high availability the Wärtsilä 32 Auxpac engine has become a popular choice for vessels in the upper end of the shipping market. The Wärtsilä 32 is the most powerful of the company's Auxpac range of generating sets.

World No.1 container liner Maersk, Swiss peer MSC and 13 other shipping firms are set to escape possible penalties as EU antitrust regulators plan to accept their offer to end a five-year probe, three people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The European Commission is likely to announce its decision next month, which means no fine or finding of wrongdoing against the companies, the sources said. Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso declined to comment. The case, which focuses on the way the companies announce price increases…

World No.1 container liner Maersk, Swiss peer MSC and 13 other shipping firms are set to escape possible penalties as EU antitrust regulators plan to accept their offer to end a five-year probe, three people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The European Commission is likely to announce its decision next month, which means no fine or finding of wrongdoing against the companies, the sources said. Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso declined to comment. The case, which focuses on the way the companies announce price increases, could have repercussions for other sectors such as supermarkets and chemical firms, which use similar methods and are keen to stave off any suspicion of collusive behaviour.