Crude oil tanker joint venture set up
Sep-30-2014 By : fcccadmin
Shanghai-listed, Hong Kong-based China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) is partnering with Sinotrans & CSC, China’s third-largest shipping and logistics conglomerate to set up a USD1.1 billion joint venture that could boost China’s energy shipping capacity. CMES is taking a 51% stake in the new venture, injecting its 19 very large crude carriers (VLCCs), both live and on order, valued at USD565.9 million, in addition to cash. Sinotrans & CSC will pay cash for its share of the venture. The vessels will be managed by CMES subsidiary Associated Maritime Co (Hong Kong). Sinotrans & CSC, with its main energy shipping subsidiary Nanjing Tanker, is ranked as the world’s ninth-largest VLCC operator by live fleet size, according to Clarksons data.
Qinhuangdao Port set for record coal deliveries
By : fcccadmin
Qinhuangdao, China’s largest coal port, is set for record commodity deliveries over the next three years as urbanization boosts demand for the fuel. Shipments of mainly coal and ores via the port may rise by 20 million to 30 million tons by 2017, said Xing Luzhen, Chairman of Qinhuangdao Port. Supplies hit a record high of 279 million tons in 2011. China depends on coal for 66% of its energy. The port is the delivery point for about 40% of China’s seaborne coal. Qinhuangdao Port’s new terminal in Caofeidian, with an annual capacity of 50 million tons, may begin trial operations this year, Xing said. Qinhuangdao Port will benefit from having stable contracts of as long as 10 years that cover about 70% of throughput.
ASEAN Ministers agree to promote Maritime Silk Road
By : fcccadmin
Economic and Trade Ministers of ASEAN countries have reached a consensus at a meeting in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, to work with China to accelerate the development of the maritime Silk Road. Chen Yingming, Executive Vice President of the Shanghai-based China Port and Harbors Association, said that as a majority of ASEAN nations have long coastlines and important regional ports, this move will help link growth centers like Shanghai, Singapore and Penang in Malaysia, as well as develop new regional hubs, such as Jakarta in Indonesia and Danang in Vietnam. The maritime Silk Road begins in Fuzhou in Fujian province, and heads south into the ASEAN region. From the Malacca Strait, it then turns west to Europe, according to one version of the blueprint. China has maintained its position as ASEAN’s largest trading partner, with trade volume reaching USD350.5 billion at the end of 2013. The figure accounted for 14% of ASEAN’s total trade and represented an increase of 7.7% year-on-year. Last year, ASEAN received USD8.6 billion of direct investment from China, a significant 60.8% increase year-on-year and representing 7.1% of total inflow to ASEAN. Guangdong province plans to set up overseas trade offices in ASEAN countries as part of plans to improve business links. The province is also encouraging local enterprises to establish production bases, marketing networks and regional headquarters in ASEAN countries.
China’s courts build reputation in maritime disputes
By : fcccadmin
More foreign companies prefer to have marine disputes resolved in Chinese courts nowadays as the judiciary’s reputation grows with the increasing number of maritime cases in which it has provided equal protection to overseas litigants, China’s top court said. Disputes over marine freight, watercraft rentals, vessel collisions, ship construction and ocean pollution have multiplied, according to China’s Maritime Adjudication, a white book of marine trial records over the past 30 years in Chinese and English issued by the Supreme People’s Court (SPC). The figure shows an annual increase of about 10% a year, and China now handles the most marine disputes in the world as it becomes the main maritime cargo center in the Asia-Pacific region. So far, these tribunals have heard 64,747 marine cases involving overseas litigants from more than 70 countries and regions. By August, 8,258 marine rulings with English versions have been released on the internet, Wang Yanjun, Deputy Chief Judge of the Marine Tribunal under the SPC said. As of 2013, Chinese maritime courts had detained 7,744 ships, of which 1,660 were from foreign companies, the China Daily reported.
Foreign investors to be allowed to set up shipping enterprises
By : fcccadmin
China will allow overseas investors and private Chinese companies to establish shipping enterprises, according to the “Guidelines on promoting a healthy development of the maritime industry”, a new 15-point policy. Zhang Shouguo, Vice Chairman of the China Shipowners’ Association, said that he had been expecting the release of the policy for years. Shipping businesses fully-owned and controlled by foreign investors can be set up in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ). The 10 shipping companies listed in China reported a total loss of nearly CNY1.5 billion for the first six months of this year, according to their financial reports. He Jianzhong, Vice Minister of Transport, said at a Beijing news conference that Chinese shipping companies’ technological capability was weaker than foreign competitors. Currently, more than 90% of China’s international trade is carried out by sea, but only 25% of China’s imports and exports are carried by domestic shipping companies. The Vice Minister said that there are more than 240 shipping companies in China and their fleets have a total cargo capacity of more than 100 million metric tons, accounting for 8% of the global cargo shipping industry. To boost the industry, the central government has decided to restructure the shipping sector by prioritizing its development as a national strategy, facilitating the expansion of selected enterprises and helping coastal cities build “international shipping hubs”. Favorable taxation and fiscal policies will play an important role in enhancing shipping enterprises’ capacity and making them greener and more competitive, the guidelines said, noting the government plans to create a modern shipping industry by 2020. Over the past year, the Ministry of Transport has abolished 26 administrative approval procedures that governed shipping operations, aiming to reduce government intervention, He said. Because of high tax burdens, from corporate tax to seafarers’ salary tax, and red tape in vessel registration and importation, most Chinese shipping companies sailing international routes have shunned the homeland, setting up operational bases in low-taxed jurisdictions and flying their vessels with foreign flags. The guidelines also encourage development of sea-rail intermodal and inland waterway transport.
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