China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited - abbreviated as COSCO SHIPPING - is a Chinese multinational transportation service and real estate conglomerate headquartered in Shanghai. The group's core businesses are marine transportation and stevedoring. COSCO SHIPPING was established in January 2016 by the merger of COSCO and China Shipping. As of March 2020, COSCO SHIPPING's vessel fleet was among the largest in the world - 1310 vessels with a capacity of 105.92 million DWT.
History
In January 2016, the Chinese State Council approved the merger of COSCO and China Shipping, forming COSCO SHIPPING. The merger of COSCO and China Shipping - which occurred during a downturn in the marine transportation industry - sought to achieve economies of scale. The merger was also part of a broader effort by the Chinese government to restructure its state-owned shipping sector.
COSCO
China Ocean Shipping Company, founded in 1961 and headquartered in Beijing, was a Chinese state-owned multinational transportation services conglomerate. COSCO's bulk cargo subsidiary was the world's largest in 2007. Its multinational container shipping subsidiary - COSCO Container Lines - was a member of the CKHYE container line alliance and one of the world's top 10 container carriers in terms of fleet capacity. COSCO was among China's top 15 brands in 2012.
China Shipping
China Shipping Company was founded in 1997 and was headquartered in Shanghai. The group was a Chinese state-owned transportation services conglomerate. China Shipping's multinational container shipping subsidiary - China Shipping Container Lines - operated 156 container vessels with 724,000 TEU capacity. China Shipping Container Lines was a member of the Ocean Three Alliance and its container shipCSCL Globe was the world's largest in 2014. China Shipping's other subsidiaries operated oil tankers, tramps, passenger ships, and car carriers.
Business Sectors
COSCO SHIPPING is composed of seven business clusters.
This sector consists of marine transportation services and represents COSCO SHIPPING's core business. COSCO SHIPPING Lines, Ltd. - held by COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co. Ltd. - is the container shipping subsidiary of COSCO SHIPPING. As of May 2020, COSCO SHIPPING Lines is the world's third largest container carrier in terms of vessel capacity, operating over 2.8 million TEU. COSCO SHIPPING Lines is a member of the Ocean Alliance - a vessel-sharing alliance - along with CMA CGM and Evergreen Line. In July 2018, COSCO SHIPPING Holdings acquired Orient Overseas International Ltd., one of the world's top 10 largest container carriers. The other components of COSCO SHIPPING's Shipping Industrial Cluster include:
