Importance of Ningbo Port highlighted
Nov-29-2012 By : agxadmin
Ningbo Port in Zhejiang province has established trade connections with more than 600 ports from more than 100 countries and regions in the world. All of the world’s top 20 liners have opened regular cargo or passenger lines to Ningbo. As of August this year, Ningbo had formed a global network with more than 200 cargo container routes. The port is now an important entry point for resources such as coal, oil and iron ore. Ningbo is the largest crude oil processing base in the country, and more than 30 large domestic steel plants import iron ore through Ningbo port. Zhejiang province has the largest number of thermal power stations in South China thanks to its bulk import of coal through Ningbo port. Total export and imports at the port exceeded USD200 billion last year. In the first half of this year, Ningbo port handled 222 million metric tons of cargo, a year-on-year increase of 6.1% and a historical high. The city is expected to become the core national marine economic zone by 2015 through accelerated development of marine technology, logistics and innovation, according to a blueprint from the local government. The plan envisions total production in the city from ocean-related industries will reach CNY450 billion by the end of 2020. The port at Ningbo is second nationwide only to Shanghai in annual cargo throughput. In the first six months of 2012, total cargo throughput hit a new high of 222 million tons and the number of containers reached 7.8 million, an increase of 10.1%. “We need to seize the opportunity to make our city more competitive among the marine economies,” said Wang Huizhong, the Communist Party Secretary of Ningbo. The city has set a goal to build a comprehensive logistic service system based on its deepwater ports. China’s first national marine industry fund was listed on the stock market in 2011 and will raise CNY3 billion.
Dandong’s port industry zone is attracting more investment
By : agxadmin
In the first half of this year, bulk cargo throughput at the port of Dandong in Liaoning province reached 43.86 million tons, a year-on-year increase of more than 29%. It also handled 470,000 containers, up 39%. The port industrial zone has attracted CNY30 billion worth of investment from China and abroad in the past six years. The Dandong Shipbuilding Industry Co and South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding are building a joint shipbuilding project in the zone. Once it is complete, the project is expected to generate annual revenue of CNY50 billion. According to projections, it will also attract at least 200 supporting enterprises and provide jobs for more than 50,000 people. In the field of port logistics, an ore terminal with a total investment of more than CNY11 billion is under construction at the port. A huge agricultural product processing and logistics facility is also under construction that will process and store grains. The project is expected to be capable of processing 3.5 million tons of grains a year, with revenue projected to reach CNY30 billion, the China Daily reports.
The new 1,380 kilometer railway from Hegang in Heilongjiang province to Dandong in Liaoning province, which became operational on September 26, will also help to make Dandong a major port. Covering a combined 785,000 sq km, the 13 cities along the line – including Hegang, Jiamusi, Mudanjiang, Yanji, Baishan, Tonghua, Dandong and Dalian – account for 31.2% of the total area of Northeast China. Together, the cities have a population of 24.8 million, 22.8% of the total in the region. Chen Lizhu, a Dandong City Development and Reform Commission official in charge of the railway industry, said the new line will sharply reduce transport costs. The railway’s Tonghua-Dandong section alone can carry 16 million tons of cargo each year. “The railway has connections with the dozens of berths for both bulk cargo and containers at Dandong, making the port the most convenient access to the sea in Northeast China,” Chen said. “In the next few years, the throughput at Dandong Port can easily increase to 100 million tons due to huge demand for grain, ore, iron, coal and equipment transport in the area,” said Li Xiang, Manager at Dandong Port Group. Li said a conservative estimate puts the port’s annual throughput at 50 million tons of iron and ore, 10 million tons of grain and food, and 40 million tons of coal. He predicted the port will also handle 1.5 million containers a year. “Using Dandong Port for exports and imports, enterprises in the region can save more than CNY6 billion in logistic costs each year” due to the shorter distance, Li added. “For instance, the distance from Mudanjiang and Jiamusi – both in Heilongjiang province – to Dandong Port will be cut by 122 km and 292 km respectively,” Li said. The railway will also help the port extend its serviced hinterland into the Far East region of Russia, where there are rich resources of petroleum, coal and timber. The Dandong Port Group has already established more than 30 dry ports in Northeast China offering comprehensive services.
Call to reduce number of port operators at Kwai Chung
By : agxadmin
The number of port operators at Hong Kong’s Kwai Chung container terminal should be reduced if Hong Kong port is to maintain its operating efficiencies after the introduction of ultra-large container ships, Eric Ip, Deputy Managing Director of Hutchison Port Holdings, said. Having five terminal operators at Kwai Chung was “a bit old fashioned”, especially as several operators only had one or two berths each, he added. Container ships have increased in size in recent years, requiring more quay length and berthing space, Ip told delegates at the Asian Logistics and Maritime conference in Wan Chai. A 5,000 TEU box ship, which was the biggest of its type several years ago, took up about 250 meters of quay when berthed and required 300 m to maneuver while berthing and leaving the quay. But Maersk will introduce 18,000 TEU container ships from next year that will take up 400 m of quay and require 500 m to maneuver. Several container lines, including Orient Overseas Container Lines and Cosco Container Lines, have in service or on order slightly smaller vessels of 13,000 to 14,000 TEU but which still require 350 to 400 m of quay each. DP World-NWS controls container terminal 3, which has a single 305 m berth. DP World is also the majority owner of Asia Container Terminal, which operates two berths with a combined length of 740 m at container terminal Eight West, while Cosco-HIT has two berths totaling 640 m at container terminal Eight East. Ip said there was a need for “a certain rationalization in Hong Kong port”. The new ships were so big they could not call at all ports and there would be an increase in transshipment cargo from smaller Asian ports to hubs such as Hong Kong. Alan Lee, head of the Hong Kong Container Terminal Operators Association whose five members operate the nine terminals at Kwai Chung port, asked for his reaction to Ip’s rationalization plan, said: “This is the first time I’ve heard about it.” Ip also questioned who benefited from the use of ultra-large box ships, pointing out that they posed a challenge for shipping lines and terminal operators, which need to invest in strengthening existing berths or building new infrastructure, the South China Morning Post reports.
MAN helping Chinese shipping companies to reduce emissions
By : agxadmin
MAN Diesel & Turbo, world market leader for large diesel engines used in ships and power stations, is playing an important role in the efforts of Chinese shipping companies to meet new global standards to reduce emissions and increase efficiency. “About 75% or more of Chinese ships are equipped with main engines from MAN,” said Stephan Timmermann, Executive Board Member of MAN Diesel & Turbo, responsible for marine systems and after sales services. Hou Liping, Chief Engineer and Deputy Managing Director at Cosco Container Lines Co, said the subsidiary of Cosco Group “now has 106 vessels, 99 of them equipped with MAN main engines. Only seven use different engine brands in our entire fleet.” The cooperation between Cosco and MAN can be traced back to 1964. “As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of large-bore diesel engines and one of the three leading suppliers of turbo machinery, a central concern of MAN is protection of the environment,” Timmermann said. Every year both MAN and Cosco issue a sustainability report in which the two industry leaders report their performance on corporate responsibility. “Cosco being our biggest customer in China, we have to offer our technical expertise so they can become more environmentally friendly,” Timmerman said. Hou said Cosco had retrofitted old vessels with slide fuel valves and Alpha Lubricators from MAN PrimeServ in the last few years. “With these green technologies, we have great performance in energy conservation and emission reduction,” he said. Many vessels now run at slower speeds to lower emissions and save costs. Hou said “most vessels worked at 22 or 23 knots before, but now we have reduced the speed to only 17 or 18 knots or even lower”. “A 10,000 twenty foot equivalent unit container vessel consumes around 240 tons of fuel a day at design speed. So if you run at 19 knots, that’s 160 tons per day – you can see the big difference,” Hou said. Of MAN’s total revenues, about 20% was generated in China, its single biggest market. MAN plans to set up a new logistics center in Shanghai’s Lingang area, the China Daily reports.
Cosco battles losses
By : agxadmin
The torrent of red ink flowing from China Cosco Holdings’ balance sheet may have eased in the third quarter with the help of government subsidies, but the problems facing the firm’s core dry cargo and container line businesses look far from over, as a slump in demand, too much tonnage in the global merchant fleet, and high-priced charters continue to weigh on the company. Overall, quarterly losses at China Cosco have been trimmed this year from a CNY2.69 billion net loss between January and March. The firm posted a CNY1.53 billion net loss in the third quarter, helped by a CNY490 million increase to CNY808.28 million in government subsidies. While some of the improvement came from high freight rates at Cosco Container Lines, analysts do not expect the rebound to continue. Jon Windham, head of the Asian industrials sector at Barclays in Hong Kong, said a decline in Asia-to-Europe freight rates since June signaled a sequential decline in container profitability in the fourth quarter. Winnie Guo, Shipping Analyst with CCB International Securities, said the third quarter did not live up to expectations as the container freight rate index declined 1% quarter-on-quarter.
China Cosco is the largest in revenue terms of the five listed subsidiaries of China Ocean Shipping (Group). The others are Cosco Container Lines, Cosco Logistics, Cosco Pacific – which is separately listed – and Florens, China Cosco’s container sales and leasing company. While the other separately listed Cosco group subsidiaries remained in the black, all saw steep declines in profitability. Cosco Shipping, the Shanghai-listed heavy-lift company, said net profit dropped 72.7% to CNY798.7 million in the first nine months of this year when it reported its third-quarter results on October 15. This was despite a 6% rise in revenue to CNY1.39 billion. Cosco Corp (Singapore), which controls Cosco shipyards and a dry bulk business, saw net profit drop 19% to HKD518.66 million in the first nine months of this year. Net profit at terminals company Cosco Pacific fell 24.5% to USD178.93 million in the first half while revenue rose 31.8% to USD367.36 million. Cosco International, whose businesses include marine paints, chartering, and ship services, saw interim net profit slip 1% to HKD232.42 million on revenue that fell 21% to HKD4.48 billion between January and June. Overall, the Cosco group operates at least 700 ships and employed 71,100 people in 2010, including 44,600 Chinese employees. Analysis of China Cosco’s interim results shows losses at the container and dry bulk shipping divisions dragged the rest of the company down. Cosco Logistics, terminals, and the container sale and leasing operations, all increased their profit contribution to China Cosco in the first half of this year. China Cosco’s on-balance sheet debt topped CNY79 billion in the first half, but Barclays’ Windham said there were thought to be additional off-balance-sheet debts of CNY13 billion in vessel capital commitments and CNY52 billion in vessel operating leases as of June 30 this year.
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