CHINA MARITIME LAW NEWSLETTER
Vol. 1, No. 4 - December 25, 2000
TOPICS THIS ISSUE:
- China's Largest Container Ship Takes to Sea
- COSCO to Develop New Networks
- China Shipping Group Eyes Los Angeles Terminal Site
- Ship Explosion Kills Four in Central China
- Shanghai’s Deep-Sea Port Project in Jeopardy
China's Largest Container Ship Takes to Sea
China Shipping (Group) Co., among China’s largest and fastest-growing carriers, plans to add a 5,500 TEU container ship, the CSCL Shanghai, into its Asia-America South Loop service beginning December 12.
The CSCL Shanghai, China's biggest container ship, left the Shanghai port for the U.S. on December 10, on its maiden voyage. The ship has a capacity of 5,500 TEUs. The Hyundai-built container vessel is capable of sailing at 26 knots per hour. China Shipping is also known as the Zhonghai Group, and is based in Shanghai.
Zhonghai Group’s shipping line currently operates a total of five 2,800 TEU ships on the Asia-America South Loop service route, which has recently added stops at the port of Kwangyang. However, they plan to upgrade to 5,500 TEU-plus ships by late 2001.
The port rotation of its Asia-America South Loop service is Xiamen, Yantian, Hongkong, Kwangyang, LA, and Vancouver.
At present, there are more than 400 container ships that can hold over 3,000 TEUs in the world, 35 percent of which have a capacity of over 4,500 TEUs. Fifty-eight of the 167 ships to be built in 2001 in the world will have a capacity of over 5,000 TEUs.
Experts predicted that in the first 10 years of the next century, container ships with a capacity of over 5,000 TEUs will constitute a major part of global transportation by sea.
The Zhonghai Group Container Company now has 103 ships, with a combined capacity of 120,000 containers. The company has opened 40 navigation routes at home and abroad.
(Source: People’s Daily, Maritime Press)
COSCO to Develop New Networks
China Container Transport Company, a subsidiary of China Ocean Shipping Corporation (COSCO), has unveiled plans to develop three worldwide networks to increase its global competitiveness.
The corporation plans to introduce new ships with 5,250 standard base boxes next year to improve its shipping space capacity and the coverage rate of its American and European shipping lines.
With the development of the lines between Southeast Asia, Europe and America, China Container Transport plans to develop more short-distance lines to improve its global shipping network.
In addition, the company will further integrate its branches at home and abroad to form a unified global marketing network.
The company also plans to create a global information network, which is hoped to improve shipping reservations, shipping bills transmission and account settlements.
(Source: Journal of Commerce, Xinhua News Service)
China Shipping Group Eyes Los Angeles Terminal Site
China Shipping Group, which has experienced dramatic growth over the past several years, anticipates signing an agreement with the Port of Los Angeles to develop a container terminal in California.
Li Kelin, president of China Shipping Group, is scheduled to meet on December 20 with Larry Keller, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, to sign a letter of intent regarding the proposed development. The location being discussed is the site of the former Todd Shipyards in Los Angeles.
China Shipping Container Lines, a subsidiary of China Shipping Group, began shipping to the region in December 1999. The shipping subsidiary plans to replace its current fleet of 2,800- to 3,000-TEU vessels with 5,000 plus TEU capacity ships over the next two years.
(Source: Journal of Commerce)
Ship Explosion Kills Four in Central China
Four people were killed and four injured in an explosion that occurred around 1:45 p.m. December 13 on a cargo ship at a dock in Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province.
According to local police, there are still three additional people missing that were on the ship at the time of the explosion.
The owner of the ship, which can carry 120 tons of cargo, is a private businessman in Nanxian County. With a full cargo of paper products, the ship started unloading at the dock at 11 a.m.
The accident is under further investigation.
(Source: Xinhuanet)
Shanghai’s Deep-Sea Port Project in Jeopardy
Shanghai’s plans to build a RMB 152 billion offshore deep-sea port nearby are currently on hold as the State Council has delayed approval of the project and may eventually scuttle the plans in the face of major opposition in Beijing.
The deep-sea port, with a planned capacity of 22-million TEUs, was planned to be operational by 2020. If it were completed, it would allow the Shanghai port to compete with the major ports of Singapore and Hong Kong. The plan is to build the port on two islands, 20 miles away from Shanghai, small Yangshan and big Yangshan, that have a current that would keep sediment away. A 20-mile bridge would connect the new port with Shanghai. The first phase is to construct a 4-million TEU terminal at small Yangshan Island, and the bridge connecting the island to Shanghai.
One major difficulty is that the port of Ningbo, south of Shanghai, is a natural deep-sea port with substantial port activity. Ningbo is also trying to increase its port business. While the Shanghai port has considerable container traffic, Ningbo primarily handles bulk transport. A cooperative project between the two rivals would be a sensible option, but the long-standing rivalry between the two cities makes such co-operation difficult.
Shanghai has solid arguments for the port project. The final destination of 75% of containers shipped is Shanghai.
The State Council has neither accepted nor rejected the plan. For this project, Beijing must approve, so Shanghai is currently conducting studies into the feasibility of the project, and hopes to include it in the city’s next five-year plan, which will be submitted next year.
(Source: Chinabiz.org, People’s Daily)
Lehman Lee & Xu
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(formerly known as the L&A Law Firm)
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North Huangpi Road, Shanghai 200003 China
Tel: (86)(21) 6375-8240-1
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shanghai@chinalaw.cc
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