Tag: COSCO

China's biggest container lines to enlarge space-swap arrangements as Asia-Europe shake-up continues China's two biggest container lines are to work more closely together as an extensive shake-up of the Asia-Europe trades continues.According to a report in IFW's sister publication, Lloyd's List, Cosco Container Line and China Shipping have unveiled plans to expand their space-swap arrangements next year. The agreement covers both the North Europe and Mediterranean trades.The announcement comes amid speculation that China Shipping is in talks with the CKYH alliance, which includes Cosco, about a partnership arrangement.The new space-swap agreement between Cosco and China Shipping covers three services operated by each line, but it is unclear whether this deal involves all the CKYH members.China Shipping is thought to be in talks with partner Evergreen and members of the CKYH consortium about a six-strong co-operative arrangement covering the Asia-Europe trades that would offer a powerful alternative to the new alliances now being formed by other global carriers.Talks are understood to be under way between the various parties, although no final conclusions have yet been reached.But should China Shipping decide to work with the CKYH group of Coscon, K Line, Yang Ming and Hanjin Shipping, it would be able to contribute ...

COSCO Chairman says US should create a more favorable business environment for China At a time of slow recovery and high unemployment, China's role in helping to boost the United States economy has become more obvious. This is more recognized in states where Chinese companies have left good footprints with its investment records. China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co (COSCO) is one of them.In 2002 the Port of Boston was facing a shutdown when the shipping giant Moeller-Maersk Group canceled its services to the port. The Massachusetts state government invited COSCO, one of the world's largest liner shipping companies, to invest and help. Led by its current chairman Wei Jiafu, COSCO negotiated a deal with the Massachusetts state and opened a route from Boston directly to Chinese ports. The contract immediately saved about 9,000 dockworkers' jobs in the New England area."COSCO offered a helping hand then and the (Massachusetts) state and people there really appreciated it," recalls Wei, 61, who has more than 10 years' sailing experience as a commercial shipping captain.Wei is a familiar figure in the US. In 2009 BusinessWeek listed him among the 40 Most Influential People in China, and he has received a number of awards in ...

The negative impacts that oil spills have on marine life

It caused damage to the region's once-plentiful schools of Pacific herring The cargo ship accident that dumped tens of thousands of gallons of thick, tarry ship fuel into San Francisco Bay caused lasting damage to the region's once-plentiful schools of Pacific herring, the bay's only commercially fished species, according to a study released Monday.Herring embryos collected from shorelines left coated in oil starting about 3 months after the November 2007 Cosco Busan spill suffered from unusually high death rates and a range of ailments and deformities associated with exposure to the chemicals in crude oil, the study found."The majority of embryos in samples from oiled sites were dead on examination in the laboratory," wrote the study's authors, who were led by John Incardona, a toxicologist with the fisheries division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.By 2010, death rates had returned to normal, but the embryos continued to show heart defects that are a common symptom in herring of oil exposure.The bay's Pacific herring are the largest coastal population in the continental U.S. and a key element of the bay's complex food web, according to the study, which was published online by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.The ...

Collision resulting in the loss of 11 lives The UK MAIB issues Report No 27/2011on the investigation of the collision between the container ship Cosco Hong Kong and the fish transportation vessel Zhe Ling Yu Yun 135 in the East China Sea, resulting in the loss of 11 lives on 6 March 2011.For more information, click hereSource: MAIB

Singapore authorities returned a dry bulk vessel to China COSCO Holdings Singapore authorities returned a dry bulk vessel to China COSCO Holdings, six days after it was impounded over a financial dispute with one of its clients, court documents and a company official said on Thursday. The 74,000-tonne bulk carrier, Song Shan Hai, was released by Singapore's Supreme Court late Wednesday, easing concerns over China's relationship with the global maritime community."The court released the ship because we gave them information stating that the other company had broken the contract with us," said a Hong Kong-based COSCO official. COSCO, operator of the world's largest bulk cargo fleet and a major global container shipper, remained in talks with its unidentified client over an unpaid bill of around $1 million, the official added.The ship is the third vessel to be seized by authorities this year as the Chinese firm struggles with a severe downturn in the freight market. The other two ships were briefly impounded after COSCO halted payments to several ship owners to force better terms, a move that hurt its relationship with some maritime companies. COSCO said the Singapore case was not related to the lease disputes earlier this year.Many of ...

Song Shan Hai is the third vessel to be seized by authorities Singapore has impounded a vessel operated by China COSCO Holdings because of a payment dispute, the company said on Wednesday, reigniting concerns over China's relationship with the global maritime industry.The 74,000-tonne bulk carrier, Song Shan Hai, is the third vessel to be seized by authorities this year as China's top shipping conglomerate struggles with a severe downturn in the freight market."Our company chartered out this vessel to another company. The company did not abide by the contract and did not pay us," said a Hong Kong-based COSCO Holdings official. "We will get it back soon."He said the incident was not related to lease disputes with shipowners earlier this year.COSCO had at least two other vessels briefly seized this year after it halted payments to several ship owners to force better terms, a move that has hurt its relationship with some maritime companies.COSCO, operator of the world's largest bulk cargo fleet and a major global container shipper, has resolved most of its lease disputes with ship owners, managing to successfully reduce a "large portion" of its charter costs, its chairman told Reuters last week.UNPAID BILLIn the Singapore case, the ...

The difficult market will persist until 2014 or even longer "We are still studying the safety and profitability issues in managing the giant ships," Ma told China Daily in an exclusive interview.In a bid to stabilize freight costs and iron ore prices, Rio de Janeiro-based Vale invested $2.3 billion in 19 of the 400,000 ton megabulk carriers and will control another 16 under long-term contracts, according to the company. Scheduled for delivery by the end of 2013, it will be the world's largest iron ore fleet.The miner received the first ship in the fleet in July and had planned to sail it to China's Dalian port on its maiden voyage. However, the company said that the giant vessel was diverted to Italy because of restrictions at Dalian and a request from a European customer."China's ports can't handle a vessel of 400,000 tons. They are too big and too dangerous," said COSCO Chairman Wei Jiafu."Because of the safety restrictions, we are not considering buying or running Vale's fleet for the time being. We have our own vessels," he said, echoing Ma's comment.However, an industry insider said the hurdle to the deal was essentially the vessel's price and that there is still ...

COSCO had managed to reduce "a large portion" of charter costs through the negotiations China COSCO Holdings Co Ltd , operator of the world's largest bulk cargo fleet and a major global container shipper, said on Thursday that it has been able to slash charter costs after successful renegotiations with ship owners amid a gloomy outlook for the shipping industry."The negotiations went well. Most of the ship owners have agreed to reduce charter costs," COSCO Chairman Wei Jiafu told Reuters on the sidelines of a global shipping conference in Boao, on the southern Chinese island province of Hainan.COSCO had managed to reduce "a large portion" of charter costs through the negotiations, Wei said, adding that the company had stopped buying ships last year because of an uncertain industry outlook.COSCO halted payments to several ship owners earlier this year to force better terms, a move that threatened to taint its reputation within the international shipping community. It had sought to reassure investor that talks with ship owners over unpaid bills would be resolved.Source: Reuters

Transpacific carriers struggle with low rate levels on the trade Two transpacific loops will be abandoned for the next quarter by member carriers of the CKYH Alliance, led by Hanjin and Cosco, Shippingazette reports.For the two services, the multi-operator CLX loop will be withdrawn in October and the CKYH-operated SJX service will end in December, said a Hanjin Shipping spokeswoman, who said suspensions were part of winter hibernation.Reports of the suspensions emerged earlier this week, as transpacific carriers struggle with low rate levels on the trade. In an American Shipper webinar, Mathijs Slangen, a senior maritime analyst with the consultant Seabury Group, said that while capacity on the transpacific has held steady, demand levels are falling as peak season is expected to arrive much later than in 2011."Consumer confidence is at a low level now," said Mr Slangen. "Inventory managers now are really scared to restock again."The CLX rotates through Fuzhou, Ningbo, Shanghai, Yokohama, Long Beach and to Fuzhou. The SJX rotates through Port Kelang, Singapore, Shenzhen-Yantian, Kaohsiung, Osaka, Tokyo, Long Beach, Oakland, Tokyo, Osaka, Kaohsiung and back to Port Kelang.Source: Port News