Zheng He News

China celebrated its 19th National Maritime Day on July 11, with celebrations taking place in museums and schools along with a range of technical conferences.The Ministry of Transport released the 2022 China Shipping Development Report which showed that container throughput at ports increased by 4.7% and the volume of rail-water multi-modal transport routes increased by 16% year-on-year.China Daily reports Vice-Transport Minister Fu Xuyin saying: “By the end of last year, the Chinese fleet reached a carrying capacity of 370 million deadweight tons…

The first bulk U.S. soybean cargo from the Texas Gulf Coast in about six months was loaded and shipped last week from a Cargill Inc terminal, in a sign of shifting trade flows in the wake of Hurricane Ida, traders and shipping sources said.The vessel Spar Rigel was loaded early last week with about 55,000 tonnes of soybeans at Cargill's Houston terminal, an outlet that typically loads mostly wheat and sorghum grown nearby, according to a shipping vessel lineup seen by Reuters.The uncommon shipment is the first of several soybean cargoes expected to load at Cargill's Texas facility this autumn after one of the company's two terminals at the Louisiana Gulf Coast - the country's top outlet for corn and soy shipped down the Mississippi River - was severely damaged by Ida on Aug.

Jan De Nul group of the beginning of work on dredging and expansion on an internal ship canal and a turning circle in port of Nouadhibou (Mauritania), one of the largest centers through which iron ore from the country is exported, is told in the group message.With the deepening and widening of the 25-km long entrance channel to the mineral terminal of Port of Nouadhibou, the National Industrial and Mineral Authority of Mauritania (Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière or SNIM) opens the port for vessels with a capacity of up to 250,000 tonnes.One of Jan De Nul’s largest Cutter Suction Dredgers Zheng He arrived in the first week of October on site.

The 20,000 TEU containership Cosco Shipping Gemini was officially named and delivered. The vessel was built by the Chinese shipyard Dalian Shipbuilding Industry (DSIC) for Chinese owner Cosco Shipping Lines. Chief Financial Officer of Cosco Shipping, Sun Yueyin, attended the naming ceremony. She named the vessel and cut the ribbon. President and Deputy Party Secretary of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), Sun Bo; Party Secretary of Cosco Shipping Lines, Qian Weizhong; Chairman and Party Secretary of DSIC, Liu Zheng; as well as other guests and representatives from Cosco Shipping, CSIC, Cosco Shipping Lines, DSIC, DNV-GL Group and China Classification Society (CCS) were also present at the event on invitation.

Strong winds, high waves and toxic gases are hindering dozens of rescue boats struggling to locate missing sailors from a stricken oil tanker in the East China Sea and to extinguish a fire that has burned for the past three days on the ship. The poor conditions, with rain and waves as high as 3 metres (10 feet), frustrated efforts to tame the fire and search for the 31 remaining tanker crew members, China's Ministry of Transport said in a statement on Tuesday. The flames were forcing the South Korean Coast Guard's search and rescue team to stay as far as 3 miles (4.8 km) away from the tanker, two South Korean officials told Reuters.

China hopes the United States can "help and not cause problems" in the disputed South China Sea, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Friday ahead of next week's visit to Beijing by President Donald Trump. The United States has criticised China's construction of islands and build-up of military facilities in the sea, and is concerned they could be used to restrict free nautical movement. U.S. Navy ships have also carried out freedom of navigation patrols in the area, angering China. Speaking to reporters about Trump's trip, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang said China has indisputable sovereignty over islands and surrounding waters in the South China Sea.

The Cosco-managed Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) and Shanghai International Port Group, the world's biggest commercial port, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) envisioning cooperation in infrastructure studies, personnel training, information exchange and technical assistance. The MOU was signed by Athanasios Liagkos Executive Management Consultant & BoD member of the PPA SA and the Chairman of Shanghai International Port Group, Chen Xuyuan. This development further highlights Piraeus's strategic position on the world map and especially on the New Silk road. The sectors of cooperation mentioned in the Memorandum are: Project Studies, Staff Training, Information Exchange, Technical Assistance, etc.

Cruise holidays. Despite the now mundane miracle of aviation travel, Earth's deep oceans and seas still beckon to millions of holidaymakers year on year. Or, if perhaps not the water herself, then the concomitant aspects of contemporary cruise travel. A number of days if not weeks aboard a gargantuan, luxury-focused ship, which is replete from fore to aft with swimming pools, cafes, bars, restaurants, libraries, retail departments, casinos…did we mention bars, too? Magnificent.

Abu Dhabi Ports has signed a container terminal concession agreement with COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited - Abu Dhabi (CSPL SPV), a wholly-owned subsidiary of container terminal operator COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited, a subsidiary of China COSCO SHIPPING Corporation Limited. The event was held in the presence of His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the UAE Minister of State and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Ports, Zheng Chiping, Deputy Director of the foreign investment department of the National Development and Reform Commission of PRC and Wan Min…

The owners of Five Stars Fujian have at last paid for much-needed supplies to the Hong Kong vessel, which has been detained by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority since August 12, reports local media. The Five Stars Fujian has been detained off the port of Gladstone in  by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority after inspectors found the company had breached the Maritime Labour Convention over the insufficient food and unpaid wages for the Chinese crew. Local Australian media and Great Britain's Guardian newspaper reported earlier this week that the capsesize class coal carrier, has been sitting in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef for the past month with supplies diminishing and salaries going unpaid.

CMA CGM Group has decided to postpone its project to deploy 18,000 TEU-capacity vessels on Transpacific market trade. The much-anticipated launch of a weekly service with six mega-ships which was planned for the end of May has been delayed  in order to optimise the use of its fleet. The decision also comes as the company is rolling out an alliance with China’s Cosco Group and other rivals. French container shipping major has now signed a deal with COSCO Container Lines, Evergreen Line and Orient Overseas Container Line on creation of a new alliance, dubbed the Ocean Alliance. Analysts say CMA CGM’s new partners would not have welcomed the addition of more capacity on a route where they’re already struggling to generate profits.

Another Chinese lighthouse has become operational on Zhubi Reef, a reef in the disputed Spratly Islands of the South China Sea. China’s Ministry of Transport held ceremony on April 5, 2016 signaling the lighthouse’s completion and start of operation. Construction of the 55-meter-high lighthouse, which has a lantern of 4.5 meters in diameter on top and rotating lights inside, began in October, 2015. The lighthouse is monitored via a remote control terminal, emitting white light in the nighttime, with a range of 22 nautical miles and a glow cycle of five seconds.

CMA CGM’s six 18,000 TEU vessels named after great explorers will be deployed on the trans-Pacific market and help to accelerate its growth, the container shipping company announced today. Beginning from the end of May 2016, the CMA CGM Group will deploy its flagship fleet of six 18,000 TEU vessels between Asia and the West coast of the U.S. on the Pearl River Express service. The six container vessels – CMA CGM Bougainville, CMA CGM Kerguelen, CMA CGM Georg Forster, CMA CGM Vasco de Gama…

Shipbuilders in China will continue facing rough weather. According to a report in Bloomberg, new orders received by Chinese shipbuilders fell by nearly half last year from 2014, suggesting more consolidation is in order as the country’s appetite for raw materials wanes and shipping rates languish at multiyear lows. Shipyards in China received new orders amounting to 31.3 million deadweight tons last year, a world-leading 34 percent share of the global market. Backlog orders fell 12 percent to 123 million deadweight tons, or 36 percent of global market share. The shipbuilding will lag behind their foreign rivals as cumbersome financing conditions and prolonged excess capacity continue to crimp industry profits and push smaller shipyards out, experts said.

China's  state-owned shipbuilder Zhoushan Wuzhou Ship Repairing & Building Co. Ltd (ZWSRB)  is first government-backed shipbuilder to go under since sector started having problems last year. Zhoushan Intermediate People's Court said it accepted a petition filed by Zhejiang Shipping Group regarding the bankruptcy of a subsidiary called ZWSRB, reports Caixin. The court said it had frozen the assets of Wuzhou Ship Repairing & Building, which was founded in 2001. The shipbuilder had debts of 911 million yuan and total assets of 534 million yuan as of September 30 this year, its financial report showed. Wuzhou Ship Repairing & Building started having financial difficulties last year, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

China's state-run Sinochem Group said on Wednesday it had signed a deal with Angolan state-owned producer Sonangol to buy crude oil for more than 10 years. The statement on the Chinese company's website did not give details of the supply amount or other financial details, but trading sources said the agreement was for four or five cargoes per month, which would make the company one of the largest holders of monthly contracts to buy Angolan crude. There are currently around 15 cargoes given to these so-called term buyers each month from Angola's export programmes of roughly 55 cargoes. The deal is a coup for Angola, as OPEC members fight for market share, particularly in China, the world's largest energy consumer.

Shipping group CMA CGM has taken delivery of the newbuild box ship CMA CGM Vasco de Gama [sic] on July 27. Built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), the 18,000 TEUs vessel is, with its 399 meters length and 54 meters width, is the largest ship in the CMA CGM fleet and the largest containership ever built in a Chinese shipyard. Calling 11 different countries, the U.K.-flagged CMA CGM Vasco de Gama is positioned on the CMA CGM Group’s French Asia Line (FAL) joining Europe to Asia.

Shipping group CMA CGM has taken delivery of the newbuild box ship CMA CGM Vasco de Gama on July 27. Built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), the 18,000 TEUs vessel is, with its 399 meters length and 54 meters width, the largest ship in the CMA CGM fleet and the largest containership ever built in a Chinese shipyard. The CMA CGM Vasco de Gama is equipped with an engine of the latest generation, a twisted leading edge rudder with bulb and an optimized hull design, together decreasing the ship’s CO2 emissions by 10 percent compared to the previous vessel generation, CMA CGM said.

China’s 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and Economic Belt development vision has takers in UK maritime sector, reports Xinhua News Agency. Both countries expected to improve bilateral maritime cooperation in the "Belt and Road" initiative, chairman of Maritime London Lord Mountevans said. ‘All maritime roads lead to London’ stated moderator Doug Barrow, chief executive of promotional body Maritime London, organiser of the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) event. CMA CGM, the third biggest container operator globally, signed a strategic "Belt and Road" project with China Merchants Holdings, investment arm of China Merchants (CM) Group, to investigate and evaluate together investment opportunities.

A large container ship produced by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. was delivered to leading French container shipping group CMA CGM on Saturday in Shanghai, reports Xinhua. The vessel is named "Zheng He" after the famous ancient Chinese navigator. Its a 18,000-TEU container ship, designed by China State Shipping Corporation. Zheng He is the largest China has ever made and its deck is as large as four soccer fields, the producer said. The ship is a seventh-generation container ship, manufacturing of which has long been monopolized by the Republic of Korea. Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. said it is preparing for the construction of 20,000-TEU container ships.

New ship orders at Chinese yards have fallen 68.3 percent to the end of August as tough conditions prevailed in the global shipping market, Global Times reported quoting data from the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI). Accoring to experts said the discouraging figure will exacerbate the problems of the country’s struggling shipyards. CANSI said that due to the slack market, order backlogs and prices for new ships also fell. China’s shipbuilders completed 14.6 percent more ships by tonnage than a year earlier during the eight months, reducing the order backlog, which was down 12.1 percent at the end of August, CANSI data showed.

Three People's Liberation Army-Navy ships are scheduled to visit Naval Station Mayport as part of a routine goodwill port visit, Nov. 3-7. Three vessels are on an around-the-world deployment and will conduct the goodwill visit after completing port calls in Europe. The amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) will serve as the host ship. In Mayport, Sailors from both navies will participate in sporting events and interact during ship tours. Goodwill visits by ships from foreign navies help build trust and foster shared understanding. Foreign navy vessels routinely visit the United States; Chinese navy ship Zheng He (Type 679, Hull 81) visited Hawaii earlier this month.

In third-quarter 2015, CMA CGM once again outperformed the market average in an industry shaped by a sharp fall in freight rates and overcapacity in certain markets. Freight rates were especially weak on certain lines, including Asia-Europe. Other lines such as Transpacific routes continued to benefit from a better balance between supply and demand. CMA CGM has adjusted its capacity accordingly. Volumes carried jumped 3.4% to 3.3 million TEUs, helping to stem the 9.0% decline in the Group's revenue to $4.0 billion. There was a further fall in unit costs over the period, down 10.7% on the back of the decline in bunker prices. The Group protected its margins, reporting core EBIT of $158 million and a core EBIT margin of 4% over the quarter.