Cosco News

Chinese shipping and logistics conglomerate COSCO Shipping's container liner unit said on Wednesday it had suspended all new bookings for routes to and from ports in the Middle East region, including those in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.The move was due to escalating conflict in the region and traffic restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz, COSCO Shipping Lines said in a statement.Bookings for routes to and from Bahrain, Iraq and Kuwait have also been suspended, it added.The company said it was evaluating follow-up disposal plans, including possible alternative unloading ports, for

Anemoi Marine Technologies and COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry have renewed a framework agreement to expand collaboration on the installation of rotor sail wind-propulsion systems across COSCO Shipping subsidiary shipyards.The renewed agreement builds on cooperation that began in 2022, during which the companies completed the installation of nine rotor sails at COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry yards, including installations on very large ore carriers for Vale and U-Ming at the Zhoushan yard.Under the updated framework…

Hong Kong's CK Hutchison said on Wednesday its Panama Ports Company unit has started international arbitration proceedings against Panama after the country's top court annulled its licences to operate two Panama Canal ports, in a case that could take years to resolve.Panama's Supreme Court last week ruled the contracts violated Panama's constitution by giving the company exclusive privileges and tax exemptions.It is unclear how long the arbitration proceedings could take, although given the political sensitivities involving the U.S.

The UP World LNG Shipping Index gained 4.05% last week, closing at 182.36 points and exceeding the 180-point mark for the first time in its history. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% over the same period.Trading activity was robust, with volume well above average and a 15:4 ratio of rising to falling stocks. Several companies broke through resistance levels on strong volume, led by COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation (+10.6%) and Chevron (+6.1%). Shell, BP, Tsakos Energy Navigation, and Nakilat all moved above their respective resistance levels.Atlantic spot charter rates continued declining to $11…

Panama's Supreme Court has annulled key port contracts held by a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison, leaving the future ownership of some Panama Canal operations unclear and possibly upsetting its plans to sell some terminals.Panama Ports Company (PPC), a CK Hutchison subsidiary, has held contracts since the 1990s to operate container terminals at the canal's Pacific and Atlantic entrances, separate from the waterway's operations.The decision could disrupt CK Hutchison's proposed $23 billion sale of dozens of ports worldwide…

Danish offshore wind installation firm Cadeler has launched its Wind Ace wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) newbuild at the COSCO Qidong yard in China.With the launching complete, Wind Ace has moved into the final construction phase, which entails installation of the remaining leg sections, the main crane, and the start of commissioning activities.According to Cadeler, Wind Ace A-Class WTIV will be delivered to the company in 2026, and will become the 11th vessel in its expanding fleet of wind turbine installation vessels.“Thanks to close collaboration between our local Cadeler site team…

Schottel is supplying propulsion systems and a unique control concept for barges and tugs serving at Mineral Resources’ (MinRes) Onslow Iron project.All seven barges and two of the project's seven tugs are newbuilds being constructed by COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry in Zhoushan and Guangdong, China. Five barges have already commenced operations at the Port of Ashburton (Western Australia), with the final units scheduled for delivery in 2026. The two tugs are also scheduled to be delivered in 2026.Jeff Weber…

The Trump administration said on Thursday it would pursue negotiations with China over its dominance of shipbuilding and ocean logistics as it formalized plans for a one-year pause on U.S. port fees on China-linked vessels as part of a broader deal to reduce trade tensions.The U.S. Trade Representative's office said in a Federal Register notice that it would pause for a year starting November 10 all punitive actions against China resulting from its "Section 301" unfair trade practices investigation.

Egypt's Suez Canal revenues rose 14.2% year-on-year between July and October, the canal authority said on Tuesday, citing calmer conditions in the Red Sea after a ceasefire in Gaza and a pick up in traffic through the vital waterway.Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis launched more than 100 attacks on ships in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandab Strait that links them in 2023 and 2024 in what they described as solidarity with the Palestinians over Israel's war in Gaza…

Lloyd’s Register (LR), in collaboration with COSCO Shipping Group, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the University of Southampton, has established the International Maritime Future Technologies Innovation Center.The new virtual center aims to advance research and development in low- and zero-carbon maritime technologies, intelligent ship systems and digital innovation.The center will serve as a global platform for collaboration between industry and academia, supporting the sector’s transition towards a smarter and more sustainable future.

This week, Rolls-Royce announced that it has successfully tested the world’s first high-speed marine engine powered exclusively by methanol on its test bench in Friedrichshafen.Together with its partners in the meOHmare research project, Rolls-Royce says its engineers have therefore reached an important milestone on the road to climate-neutral and environmentally friendly propulsion solutions for shipping.Also this week, Everllence announced the world’s first conversion of its…

The U.S. and China agreed on Thursday to pause tit-for-tat fees on each other's ships that became a major irritant in the broader trade war between the world's two largest economies and pushed up ocean freight costs.The move provides a 12-month reprieve on an estimated $3.2 billion annually in fees for large Chinese-built vessels sailing to U.S. ports and was among the trade deals reached in South Korea by U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.Early this year…

Everllence has announced the world’s first conversion of an Everllence B&W S90 two-stroke engine to dual-fuel methanol running following the successful sea-trials of COSCO Shipping Lines’ 20,000+ TEU container vessel, COSCO Shipping Libra.The vessel’s 11S90ME-C engine was retrofitted to an 11S90ME-LGIM (-Liquid Gas Injection Methanol) unit.Everllence PrimeServ – Everllence’s after-sales division – partnered with COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry from concept to execution in delivering the world’s first S90 methanol engine retrofit…

The Panama Canal launched a consultation process with representatives of the maritime industry to identify potential partners interested in developing port terminals on both the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the waterway.Following a process similar to that followed for the introduction of the gas pipeline project, the Panama Canal convened a group of representatives from companies with proven experience in container port operations and container shipping lines.According to institutional rules and regulations…

The U.S. and China on Tuesday began charging additional port fees on ocean shipping firms that move everything from holiday toys to crude oil, making the high seas a key front in the trade war between the world's two largest economies.A return to an all-out trade war appeared imminent last week, after China announced a major expansion of its rare earths export controls and President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Chinese goods to triple digits.But after the weekend…

When fees from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) targeting Chinese dominance of the maritime sector come into effect October 14, 2025, 35% of ships in the combined bulk, crude tanker, product tanker and container fleet could be subject to additional fees when calling a US port. Even though these ships provide 44% of the combined fleet’s capacity, US importers and exporters should not expect increasing freight rates,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.Of the ships that could be subject to the port fees…

The U.S. is one week away from imposing port fees on certain vessels with links to China, a move expected to cost the top 10 carriers $3.2 billion next year as President Donald Trump seeks to address China's growing dominance on the high seas."While some observers believe the October 14 deadline may be extended - or even scrapped - as part of broader negotiations, the uncertainty has already unsettled carriers, adding another layer of geopolitical risk to fleet deployment strategies…

The U.S. is one week away from imposing port fees on certain vessels with links to China, a move expected to cost the top 10 carriers $3.2 billion next year as President Donald Trump seeks to address China's growing dominance on the high seas."While some observers believe the October 14 deadline may be extended — or even scrapped — as part of broader negotiations, the uncertainty has already unsettled carriers, adding another layer of geopolitical risk to fleet deployment strategies…

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is on a mission to weaken China's global network of ports and bring more strategic terminals under Western control, according to three sources familiar with the plan.The drive is part of the most ambitious effort to expand U.S. maritime influence since the 1970s and is designed to address growing fears in Washington that it would be at a disadvantage to China in the event of a conflict.Trump administration officials believe the U.S.

U-Ming Marine Transport Corporation has completed the installation of four Rotor Sails on its very large ore carrier (VLOC) vessel Grand Pioneer, becoming the first Taiwanese shipowner to adopt the wind-assisted propulsion technology.The sails, supplied by U.K.-based Anemoi Marine Technologies, were installed on a 325,000 deadweight tonne (DWT) vessel at COSCO Zhoushan Shipyard in September during a scheduled dry-docking.The plug-and-play process saw the four 35-meter tall, five-meter diameter sails lifted onto the vessel and fixed in 1.5 days…

Five U.S. unions are calling on lawmakers to pass legislation that would help secure long-term funding to revive domestic shipbuilding, an effort championed by President Donald Trump and boosted by new port fees on Chinese ships.The United States on October 14 is slated to begin collecting fees on China-linked vessels that visit the nation's seaports. While final rules from the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) are pending, HSBC analysts recently said China's COSCO Shipping is…

Danish offshore wind installation firm Cadeler has taken delivery of its first A-class wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV), Wind Ally, designed to transport up to six sets of XXL monopile foundations per round trip.Wind Ally has become the ninth vessel on the water in Cadeler’s growing fleet of next-generation WTIVs. After the scheduled mobilization, the vessel will headdirectly into operations installing foundations at Ørsted’s Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm in the North Sea.For the first time…

Global shipping companies are moving full steam ahead with commercial vessel orders from Chinese shipyards, despite the U.S. targeting those ships with port fees aimed at countering China's maritime dominance, a new report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies showed.Chinese shipyards captured 53% of all global ship orders by tonnage during the first eight months of 2025, according to the CSIS analysis of S&P Global data released on Wednesday.That was on par with full-year 2023 levels before the U.S.