Sinotrans News

Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation (Keppel T&T) has entered into agreements to divest its entire stakes in Keppel Logistics (Foshan) Co (KLF) and Keppel Logistics (Hong Kong) to Sinoway Shipping, a subsidiary of Sinotrans Limited, for about S$39 million.Expected to be completed in 2019, the proposed divestments are in line with Keppel T&T's strategy to unlock value and recycle capital, allowing the company more flexibility to pursue other opportunities.Thomas Pang, CEO of Keppel T&T, said, "The divestments are part of Keppel T&T's efforts to sharpen its focus and reallocate capital to grow other parts of its businesses. We would like to thank Sinotrans…

With digitalization technologies sweeping through maritime, Henrik Segercrantz, Maritime Reporter’s correspondent in Helsinki, explores latest developments in the quest to harness the power of 'big data.'Wärtsilä's Smart Marine EcosystemWärtsilä continues to build its leadership resume in marine and energy markets, boasting net sales of $5.7 billion last year, supported by 18,000 employees with operations in more than 80 countries. Increasingly Wärtsilä is using ‘smart’ technologies in its growing scope of products for the maritime industry…

Maritime Reporter & Engineering News, published since 1939, annually prints details on the world’s “Great Ships of the Year.” Here we rank from those selected in the December 2017 edition the top 10 ships of the year, according to the editors. Builder: Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. Builder: Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. USS Gerald R. Ford: first-of-class aircraft carrier for the U.S. Owner: U.S. Christoph de Margerie: the world’s first icebreaking LNG carrier. Builder: Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co.

China's first "smart" ship embedded with a domestically-developed intelligent navigation system made its debut in Shanghai, according to official media Xinhua. China Daily also reported that the world's first smart ship, developed and built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC),  has started its first trial voyage in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province. Christened as 'Great Intelligence' (Great Smart) 179-meter-long ship  is 32-meters-wide and 15-meters-high, with a maximum loading capacity of 38,800 tonnes. The report said that it is installed with SOMS, a China-Developed marine system with autonomous learning ability and intelligent operation system.

Eleven container liner transportation companies have promised to cut or standardize the Terminal Handling Charges (THC) in order to lower nearly 3.5 billion yuan burden of export enterprises each year, according to National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). According to a report in Shanghai Daily, the shipping companies include  China COSCO Shipping Cooperation, Maersk line, Mediterranean shipping, Hapag-Lloyd AG, Evergreen Marine, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Mitsui OSK Lines, Sinotrans Shipping. These companies have written to the NDRC and Ministry of Transport promising in standardize THC by adjusting cost standard. Chinese trading companies "reported" the excessively high and non-transparent surcharges to the NDRC.

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…

WE Tech Solutions (WE Tech), an energy efficiency solutions provider in the marine industry, and The Switch, a technology specialist of permanent magnet machines for advanced marine drive trains, have been chosen to deliver their permanent magnet shaft generator solution to Australian Toll Shipping for a series of two 12,000 dwt RORO vessels. The Sinotrans & CSC affiliated Jinling Shipyard in China will build the ships. Delivery of advanced equipment solution from WE Tech and The Switch will commence in August 2017.

Denmark's Maersk Line is fighting to remain the world's no.1 container shipping carrier as a wave of mergers and acquisitions, particularly in Asia, creates new challengers trying to grab a bigger share of a depressed market. Maersk itself hasn't made a major acquisition for more than a decade but says it might be open to "the right opportunity", although doubters believe such deals risk accumulating ships without securing enough customers. A unit of oil and shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk , the line has a 15 percent share of the overall container market.

China Energy Transport Co., Ltd. (China VLCC) has sold two secondhand VLCCs to an unrelated third party for a total price of $117.5mln. China VLCC is 51 percent owned by China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) and 49 percent owned by Sinotrans & CSC Group. It has signed agreements with two Marshall Island-registered companies, Coral Shipowning and Medal Shipowing, under which China VLCC will sell a 297,600 dwt VLCC of six to seven years old  to each of the two companies. The entry into force of the agreement remains subject to the Board of Directors of the company and the counterparty approved by the Board. Meanwhile, China VLCC has on Thursday taken delivery of a new VLCC named New Constant in Dalian, China.

WE Tech Solutions (WE Tech), an energy efficiency solutions provider in the marine industry, has received an order to deliver its direct-drive permanent magnet shaft generator solution to two new 25,600 dwt dual-fueled handysize bulk carriers, with an option for two more. The Switch, a technology specialist of megawatt-class permanent magnet (PM) machines for advanced marine drive trains, will deliver the PM shaft generators to be used in the solutions provided by WE Tech. The vessels are owned by the Finnish ship owner ESL Shipping Ltd.…

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has confirmed an important order to deliver hatch covers, cranes, deck machinery and steering gear to two new 25,600 dwt dual-fuelled handysize bulk carriers for Finnish owner ESL Shipping. The ice-class vessels are the first to be built to new classification society rules introduced January 2016. The ships have been designed to set new standards in efficiency and environmental performance and introduce liquefied natural gas-powered bulkers to the market. For each vessel MacGregor will deliver three K3030-4 mechanical grab cargo cranes with a safe working load of 30 tonnes at 30m outreach, design and key components package for multi folding-type hatch covers (6+6), electrically-driven Hatlapa deck machinery and Porsgrunn steering gear.

Chinese shipping subsidiaries will realign their businesses in response to the merger between China Ocean Shipping (Group), known as Cosco Group, and China Shipping Group, reports Nikkei. Sinotrans & CSC Holdings Co., the nation's third largest shipping company, will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Merchants Group (CMG). Earlier in December, China approved the merger of another two of its biggest state-owned shipping companies, China Ocean Shipping Group (Cosco) and China Shipping Group. China Cosco Holdings is selling its entire stake in a bulk shipping company to parent Cosco Group for 6.77 billion yuan ($1.04 billion). Meanwhile, Cosco Pacific will buy a port operator from China Shipping Container Lines for 7.63 billion yuan.

China's cabinet on Tuesday (Dec 29) approved a deal that fuses two of the country's biggest state-owned transport and logistics firms, reports Reuters. China's cabinet has approved China Merchants Group's acquisition of Sinotrans & CSC Holdings Co, the state asset regulator said on Tuesday. Previously directly supervised by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), Sinotrans & CSC Holdings is the biggest integrated logistics service provider with total asset of well over 100 billion yuan (16 billion U.S. dollars). Based in Hong Kong, China Merchants Group is a state-owned conglomerate with businesses in transportation, finance and real estate. By the end of 2014, its total asset stood at 624 billion (US$96 billion) yuan.

Chinese shipping major Sinotrans has signed with Greek shipowner Dynagas and China LNG Shipping (CLNG) for the joint purchase of five Arctic-class LNG carriers from South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME). The agreement is structured as five separate joint ventures between the parties; each venture includes membership in the shipbuilding contract and in a 25-year time charter of the vessel to Yamal LNG. The time charter is for about $20 million per month per vessel. Upon the JV completion, the company indirectly owns 25.5% in the deal, whereas CLNG holds 25.5 percent stake and  Dynagas the remaining 49 percent. Total construction cost for the five vessels is estimated at $1.6 billion.

China Merchants Energy Shipping Co Ltd (CMES)  has firmed up orders to build six very large crude carriers (VLCCs) at Dalian Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corp for $522 million, reports Reuters. The deliveries of 308,000dwt VLCCs are scheduled between August 2018 and October 2019. Order for six more VLCCs brings Chinese tanker operator’s total orders to ten. A week ago, CMES has placed an order for four newbuilding VLCCs, with two each at Nantong Cosco KHI Ship Engineering (Nacks) and Dalian Cosco KHI Ship Engineering (Dacks). The four orders are part of a 10-VLCC newbuild plan which was announced early last week. The eco-friendly VLCCs will be operated by China VLCC, a joint venture of CMES and Sinotrans & CSC Group.

The board members of China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) has approved of a plan to order an additional 10 eco-friendly VLCCs. These vessels will be operated by CMES’ Hong Kong-based subsidiary, China VLCC Company Limited,  a tanker JV between CMES and Sinotrans & CSC Group. China VLCC  was set up in early September, will be in charge of vessel operation. CMES added that it would disclose more details on the announcement once the contracts on construction of the energy saving tankers are signed. Potential value of the deal is expected to reach around USD 920 million. China VLCC currently operates a fleet of 34 VLCCs, with an additional nine on order. In October, it sold VLCCs New Medal (297,600 dwt, built 2009) and New Founder (297,400 dwt, built 2008) to Greece’s Navios for $133m.

The global shipping industry consolidation appears to be picking up, with much of the activity centering on Asia, reports Nikkei. The overcapacity and weaker global trade have fueled talk of a shakeout in the industry. CMA CGM is in “exclusive” talks with Neptune Orient Lines’ (NOL) largest shareholder, Temask, for the purchase of its APL container liner business. Over in China, the top two state-owned operators are in the final stages of merger talks. NOL announced that CMA CGM had been granted exclusive negotiating rights, through Dec. 7. Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings, which owns 68% of the shipping company, has been seeking a buyer since early summer. The French suitor beat Denmark-headquartered A.P. Moller-Maersk, the world leader, for pole position.

ESL Shipping Ltd and the steel company SSAB have signed a long-term frame agreement covering SSAB’s inbound raw material sea transports within the Baltic Sea and from the North Sea. The purpose of the agreement is to enable mutual, long-term gains in efficiency and to reduce overall logistics costs, while simultaneously making raw material logistics as sustainable and environmentally friendly as possible. At present, the aggregated sea transport volume covered by the agreement is estimated to be 6–7 million tons annually. Resulting from the agreement, ESL Shipping will order new, extremely energy-efficient LNG-fueled ships. These new, ice-class 1A ships will be the first LNG-fueled large bulk carriers in the world, representing the latest in technology and innovation.

Deltamarin Ltd proudly announces that it has signed a contract to design the world’s first LNG handysize bulk carriers, which will point the way towards greener shipping of commodities. The two B.Delta26LNG vessels will be constructed for the Finnish shipowner ESL Shipping Ltd by the Chinese Qingshan Shipyard of Sinotrans & CSC SBICO. Deltamarin’s contract with the Qingshan Shipyard covers basic and detail design, procurement handling and site assistance for the two vessels based on Deltamarin’s B.Delta26LNG design. Prior to this contract, Deltamarin has performed the full concept and contract design of the ship for ESL Shipping. “Deltamarin and ESL Shipping experts have worked together for two years to develop a ship concept…

Chinese transport giant China Merchants Group looks set to takeover Sinotrans & CSC in the potential merger between the two shipping giants in China, reports Reuters. The two companies have been locked in reorganization talks, financial magazine Caixin  said, citing sources close to China Merchants. Officials from both companies declined to comment on the talks when contacted by Reuters on Tuesday. Sinotrans & CSC Holdings have announced that the parent group is undergoing strategic restructuring, adding to speculation that a tie-up between the conglomerate and its state-owned peer China Merchants Group is imminent. Sinotrans Shipping…

State-owned shipping giants China Ocean Shipping Co. (Cosco Group) and China Shipping Group (CSG)  are in advanced negotations on combining their container shipping businesses, reports WSJ. Rumors of a merger deal between the two have been floating for half a year. Both companies suspended trading their shares at the start of August. Discussions are complex and would require government and regulatory approval that has proved difficult to predict. If successful, the deal would create the world’s fourth largest container operator by capacity. In a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, China COSCO  said after market close on October 13 that its trading halt would not last more than another month and it will announce important strategic developments within five trading days.

Sinotrans Shipping has ordered four new energy-saving containerships of 1,900 teu in capacity each at CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding Company for $98.2mln.   The four newbuildings, each costing $24.55m, are scheduled to be delivered from the shipyard in May, June, September and November 2017, respectively.   A 10% deposit has been placed by Sinotrans with the balance payable in four instalments.   The construction cost of new vessels is relatively low and the company has an advantage of sufficient capital resources, said Sinotrans   The construction of such energy-saving containerships will enable the company to optimise the composition of its fleet of containerships, it added. It can also expand the capacity of its self-owned fleet and reduce the ship chartering cost.

China Merchants Energy Shipping, Sinotrans Shipping and Greek shipping firm Dynagas are in talks to form a joint venture to build five vessels to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Arctic, the firms said. China Merchants said in a stock exchange statement on Tuesday that its board had approved a proposal allowing subsidiary China LNG Shipping to take a 25.5 percent stake in the joint venture, which will pay $1.59 billion for the ships. Sinotrans, a unit of state-owned Sinotrans & CSC Holdings on Monday said it would take a 25.5 percent share of the joint venture without revealing who its partners were. Dynagas, a private Athens-based LNG shipping firm, will take a 49 percent stake, China Merchants' statement said.