Tag: China

Shanghai aims to attract more international ships to register Chinese ships registered at the Yangshan Deep-water Port can now enjoy export rebates and other favorable policies as the port became the first in the country to accept bonded ship registration .Domestic shipowners previously needed to pay more for China-flagged vessels because they couldn't enjoy the export rebates for them. This led many domestic companies which are engaged in international shipping to register their vessels in foreign countries to trim operating cost and avoid China's strict quarantine and other regulations.Shanghai, the world's largest container port, only has 380 registered international ships, which lags far behind Hong Kong and other global ports, the Shanghai Maritime Administration said, adding that Chinese ships registered overseas increase annually."The trend restricted the development of shipping-related financial services, including ship mortgage and insurance," said Chang Fuzhi, a spokesman for the administration.Shanghai aims to attract more international ships to register in the city to boost the financial leasing and other service sectors related to the shipping industry as the city tries to develop itself into a global shipping hub by 2020.The next step will see the Shanghai Free Trade Zones working with the maritime authorities to develop favorable ...

Singapore's Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew says Singapore's Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said piracy remains a concern even though there has been progress in the fight against the threat.Mr Lui said recent events suggest an upswing in piracy incidents in Asia, but said on the positive side, the situation is not like that off the coast of Somalia.Most of the incidents in Asia are less serious and usually involve the theft of ship stores, spares and personal valuables.Mr Lui said Singapore does not take the threat of piracy lightly, and will continue to work closely with its partners in the international maritime community to combat this scourge.One of its most important partners is the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) Information Sharing Centre (ISC).Mr Lui said it is the primary platform for anti-piracy cooperation between regional governments for the timely exchange of information and sharper operational capabilities.He said the ISC's value in countering piracy has been recognised with new members coming on board. From the original 14, ReCAAP now has 17 members.The United Kingdom will soon be on board, while other countries have also expressed interest in joining ReCAAP.Mr Lui made ...

To halve vehicle taxes for users of energy-saving ships and also cars The Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced Wednesday that China will promote the use of environmentally friendly vehicles and ships by offering tax cuts.Beginning at the start of the year, the country has decided to halve vehicle taxes for users of energy-saving cars and ships, according to a government document posted Wednesday on the MOF's website.Vehicle taxes for users of new-energy cars and vessels will also be removed, according to the document.The State Administration of Taxation said late last year that the newly-adjusted Vehicle and Vessel Tax Law, effective Jan. 1, will levy moderately higher taxes on passenger vehicles with an engine size between 2 and 2.5 liters, as well as much higher taxes on those with an engine size above 2.5 liters.Source: Xinhua

Chinese carriers look to expand partnership to trans-Pacific, Asia-Europe lanes Cosco Container Lines and China Shipping Container Lines are looking to expand their vessel sharing agreements on China coastal and intra-Asia trade lanes to other routes, said Capt. Wei Jiafu, chairman of the Cosco GroupThe two Chinese carriers are discussing the possibility of extending their cooperation to the trans-Pacific and the Asia-Europe trades, Wei said in an interview on the eve of the 13th annual Journal of Commerce Trans-Pacific Maritime Conference in Long Beach."China Shipping and Cosco are both Chinese companies, so why not shake hands," Wei said. "We shake hands with Hanjin and "K" Line and Yang Ming in the CKYH Alliance so why not shake hands with China Shipping? We are brothers."He said the closer cooperation between China's two major container lines had come about because of changes in top management. Wei said the president of Chine Shipping had been Cosco's vice president and the new president of Cosco is a former vice president of China Shipping.Wei, who the keynote speaker at the opening day of the TPM Conference said that the losses reported by most major carriers last year means that carriers need to start cooperating more ...

New Chinese Coast Guard China should set up a coast guard to cope with the "increasingly challenging" maritime disputes with neighboring countries, a top political adviser said on Monday.At the annual two sessions, Luo Yuan, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee and researcher with the Academy of Military Science, said a coast guard should be established in part from some of the existing agencies whose responsibilities include enforcing law in the South China Sea and East China Sea.Currently, at least six ministries are involved in maritime affairs - including Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Land and Resources - as well as local governments.Their duties cover such matters as maritime security, maritime pollution, maritime anti-smuggling and maritime disaster rescue.Some of the departments in these agencies have overlapping duties, personnel arrangements and even equipment allocation, and their coordination is lax, Luo told China Daily.Effectively integrating these resources into a coast guard will greatly reduce internal frictions and shorten the decision-making procedures, said Luo.Luo, an outspoken senior military figure in China, made the remarks against the background of disputes between China and several of its neighbors intensifying in recent years over. These have intensified ...

China is firmly opposed to the EU's unilateral legislation on carbon tax China on Thursday called on the European Union (EU) to take seriously the concerns of the international community on its carbon emissions charges, warning the 27-nation bloc not to complicate the matter.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei made the appeal at a regular press briefing in response to a question regarding the EU Commission's plan to impose carbon emissions tax on sea transportation from June this year. "China, like many other countries, is firmly opposed to the EU's unilateral legislation on carbon tax," Hong said. "The truth is that the unilateral move is unpopular, and is unlikely to meet the EU's expectations."He said the carbon tax issue on air and sea transportation should be solved within a multilateral framework through thorough consultation." should not be separated from the legal framework of the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. Meanwhile, it should not violate the principle of 'common but differentiated responsibilities' and fair spirit," the spokesman said.Hong urged the EU side to commit itself to solving the matter instead of complicating it.On Jan. 1 this year, the EU began charging airlines using EU airports ...

'China Star', first ever cruise ship for China An unusual twin-hull cruise ship will set sail from Hong Kong on March 8, after being acquired by a Chinese mainland tycoon, his first step towards building a Chinese cruise ship fleet.Huang Weijan, an entrepreneur from Wenzhou in East China's Zhejiang province, bought the 20,295 ton ship, launched in 1992 from the Finnyards Shipyard in Rauma, Finland for the Diamond Cruise Line. The vessel was to subsequently change hands a few times, before the present owner bought it for $45M to rename China Star.Huang plans to buy four or five more ships for destinations in Korea, Russia and elsewhere.Source: China Radio International

Even though the oil tanker market is currently slow China Merchants Energy Shipping has revealed the intention to increase its competitiveness by purchasing 10 new VLCCs.Even though the oil tanker market is currently slow, Li Jian Hong, Chairman of China Merchants, is confident that this is the right moment for deriving a benefit from present low newbuilding prices and expanding the fleet capacity. The price tag for one new VLCC is significantly 37% lower if we compare it to the peak price recorded in September 2008.China Merchants is going to raise RMB 2.89 bln from the issuing of not more than 858m number of shares to designated investors at RMB 3.37 per share while the remaining amount will be borrowed from a number of banks.In case the company obtains the funds early this year, delivery of the first six VLCCs will be taken in 2013 and of another four in 2014.(2 890 000 000 Chinese yuan = 458.69502 million U.S. dollars)Source: World Maritime News

Asian oil importers to rely on domestic firms for OPEC shipments Indian shipping firms will find it difficult to obtain replacement insurance coverage to continue importing Iranian crude oil after new European Union sanctions come into effect, industry sources said.State-run Shipping Corporation of India, the largest tanker owner in the country, will lose EU insurance coverage for its oil tankers operating in Iran from July 1, when European insurers will be prohibited from indemnifying ships carrying Iranian oil.Indian maritime firms are likely to be the most affected in Asia by the sanctions, as the other two big buyers of Iranian crude, China and Japan, do not rely on European insurers but are covered by domestic providers.India, China and Japan are Iran's three biggest crude oil buyers."We are covered by P&I clubs in the EU," Sunil Thapar, director at Shipping Corp of India told Reuters, referring to customer-owned maritime protection and indemnity insurance groups."These clubs will not be able to give us coverage for vessels to Iran from July. It will be difficult for Indian shipping lines to transport Iranian crude unless alternative arrangements are made," he said. SCI owns 39 oil tankers.FEWER OPTIONSA.P. Moller-Maersk, Singapore-based Samco Shipholding, and many other ...

Anti-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia China's fast-modernizing navy is stepping up training for anti-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia in a sign of its growing long-term commitment to overseas missions.The first two-week course for 84 leading officers began this week at the Naval Command College in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing, the website of the military newspaper Liberation Army Daily said Friday. The officers will run drills and discuss military theory and experiences from China's previous anti-piracy missions, it said.China first launched the anti-piracy patrols in December 2008, joining an international flotilla aiming to protect shipping in the Gulf of Aden. More than a dozen separate missions have followed, each consisting of two of the navy's most sophisticated missile frigates accompanied by a support ship.The patrols marked a major break with the navy's traditional role of protecting China's coastal region, as well as Beijing's oft-stated opposition to foreign military interventions or overseas bases.Along with boosting the navy's blue water capabilities in operations and resupply, the patrols appear to have whetted Beijing's appetite for even more ambitious missions.In recent years, the navy has dispatched ships as far away as the Caribbean, and last year sent vessels to ...