COSCO Shipping Lines - China's largest container shipping company

Slogan "We are ready" of COSCO Shipping Lines

General information about COSCO Shipping Lines

China Ocean Shipping Company, commonly known as "COSCO Group", or simply COSCO, is a shipping and logistics service company, formerly owned by the Chinese Government. [1]

COSCO currently holds the largest share of China COSCO Shipping. COSCO Shipping Lines itself was established from the merger of "COSCO Group" and China Shipping Group.

COSCO's head office is located at Ocean Plaza Building, Xicheng District, Beijing [2][3]. According to the "Alphaliner TOP 100" list, COSCO shipping line is currently ranked third worldwide in terms of the number of container ships and total container volumes in the world, just behind Maersk Line and MSC, and is standing on the ranking position of the shipping line CMA CGM [4].

Ocean Plaza Building - COSCO Shipping Headquarters

In 2012, COSCO Shipping Lines was among the top 15 Chinese brands. [5]

In addition, COSCO shipping lines has also affirmed its own position when becoming the largest bulk carrier in China and one of the largest bulk carriers in the world.

And most importantly, COSCO is currently the largest shipping company in China. [6]

Industry: Transportation
Date founded: April 27, 1961
Head office: Xicheng, Beijing, China
Service Range: Worldwide
Website: www.lines.coscoshipping.com

History of COSCO Shipping Lines

Part 1: China Ocean Shipping Company - Period 1961–1993

China Ocean Shipping Company, COSCO for short, was established in 1961 as a Chinese government agency. In the same year, COSCO's Guangdong branch acquired a British vessel, renamed it Guanghua, and made its maiden voyage to Jakarta for the People's Republic of China. [7]

After the United States resumed relations with China in the 1970s, COSCO signed an agreement with the American shipping company Lykes Brothers in 1979.

Lykes Brothers - American shipping company

This agreement opens up sea lanes of trade between the United States and China. That same year, COSCO became the China representative, partnering with International Telephone and Telegraph to repair communication facilities in coastal Chinese cities. [8]

In 1981, COSCO won a contract from the National Tanker Company owned by the Government of Pakistan to transport crude oil. [9]

Part 2: China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company - Period 1993–2015

In 1993, COSO became a corporation and was renamed China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company. Two other companies are government-owned: China Marine Bunker Supply Company (Chimbusco) and China Road Transport Company, which became a subsidiary of the COSCO group in 1988 and 1992.

In February 1997, COSCO established a branch in Hong Kong after acquiring a Hong Kong-listed company, Shun Shing Holdings. In addition, COSCO also owns COSCO Pacific, a company listed in Hong Kong since 1994.

COSCO Pacific has a joint venture with Hongkong International Terminals Limited, which has operated a terminal at Kwai Tsing Container Terminal since 1991.

In 1995, another subsidiary, COSCO Corporation (Singapore) Limited, became a listed company on the Singapore Exchange. The company was a component of the Straits Times Index (30 representative companies listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange) until 2010.

In 2002, another subsidiary, COSCO Shipping Co., Ltd., became a listed company in Shanghai.

COSCO in the merger phase

In 2005, a smaller company owned by the Government, China Ocean Shipping Tally (referred to as China Ocean Tally), was merged into COSCO Corporation. [10]

In 2008, China COSCO Holdings entered the Financial Times Global 500 list for the first time. [11]

China COSCO Holdings

In December 2015, COSCO Group merged with China Shipping Group owned by the Chinese Government [12] to form China COSCO Shipping). COSCO Group is retained as an intermediary parent company.

Two container ships of COSCO and China Shipping Line

In December 2017, COSCO Group was re-consolidated from “An industrial enterprise owned by the whole people” into a limited liability company (Limited). The name of the company, also changed to China Ocean Shipping Company, Limited.

COSCO fleet

After the merger, COSCO Shipping has expanded its business scale and consolidated its position in the industry. Along with that, the service network is also improved.

By the end of December 2019, the carrier owned and operated 403 container ships with a total capacity of 2.2 million TEUs (COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Company owned and operated 507 container ships with a total capacity of 3.0 million TEUs, ranked 3rd in the world in terms of transport capacity).

COSCO Shipping operates 401 international and domestic shipping routes, including 255 international routes (including international transshipment services), 58 domestic routes, 88 Yangtze and Pearl river routes at 356 ports in 105 countries and regions worldwide.

Find sailing Schedule / Check shipment information (Cargo tracking) / Request a quote from COSCO Shipping here: https://elines.coscoshipping.com/ebusiness/

Sailing schedule lookup / Shipment information (Cargo tracking) / Request a quote

COSCO Shipping Lines contact information in Vietnam is as follows:

HO CHI MINH

COSCO SHIPPING LINES (VIETNAM) COMPANY LIMITED - HOCHIMINH HEAD OFFICE

Address: 05 Ho Bieu Chanh, Ward 12, Phu Nhuan, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Phone: 84 28 3829 0000
Fax: 84.28 35208111
Email: [email protected] | [email protected]

HA NOI

COSCO SHIPPING LINES (VIET NAM) COMPANY LIMITED - HANOI OFFICE

Address: 5th floor, 8th Cat Linh street, Hanoi, Vietnam
Phone: 84-24-7342511

HAI PHONG

COSCO SHIPPING LINES (VIET NAM) COMPANY LIMITED – HAI PHONG BRANCH

Address: Room 601~611, 6th Floor, Success Building 3, No.04 Le Thanh Tong Str., Haiphong City, Vietnam.
Phone: 84-225-7302868

Notes:

1 -  "China Ocean Shipping Group Co". Bloomberg. 

2 - "Contact Us 2010-01-30 at the Wayback Machine." COSCO.

3 - "Donation 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine". COSCO. May 21, 2008.

4 - Alphaliner TOP 100. 5 January 2019.

5-  Dooley, Howard J. (Spring–Summer 2012). "The Great Leap Outward: China's Maritime Renaissance". The Journal of East Asian Affairs. Institute for National Security Strategy. 26 (1): 57. JSTOR 23257908.

 6 - "China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company Company Profile". Yahoo Business. 

7 -  从“光华轮”到“中远荷兰轮”. people.com.cn (in Chinese). Xinhua News Agency. April 28, 2014. 

8 - "Communication Pact For China and I.T.T." The New York Times. August 7, 1979. 

9 - "Pakistan-China Oil Deal". The New York Times. AP. July 9, 1981. 

10 -  关于中国远洋运输（集团）总公司与中国外轮理货总公司重组的通报 (Press release) (in Chinese). 企业改革局 of the SASAC of the State Council. March 7, 2005. 

11 -  国酒茅台上榜全球市值前500强. 贵州都市报 (in Chinese). July 29, 2008. 

12 -  "China shipping groups merger plan erases S$1.27b in market value, Cosco Corp Singapore hit". The Straits Times. Singapore. Bloomberg. December 14, 2015. 

Source: Phaata.com

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