China Cosco Holdings announced it has booked an order for five new container ships of 14,500 TEUs (twenty-foot-equivalent units) in capacity in a drive to upgrade its fleet and bolster its competitiveness.
The ultra-large container vessels (ULCVs), to be built by China Shipbuilding Trading and Changxing Shipbuilding, are set for delivery between 2017 and 2018,
The order has a total purchase cost of US$618 million, or $123.6 million each, that Cosco will source from internal resources and bank borrowings.
The order is on top of the five 9,400-TEU ships that the carrier, China’s largest, has earlier ordered from Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding. The company is focusing on the upgrade of its fleet with newer and more fuel-efficient vessels to avail itself of government incentives to get rid of older tonnage as well as improve its profitability.
China Cosco was nearly de-listed from the Shanghai Stock Exchange last year following a third consecutive loss.
Hapag-Lloyd’s rate revisions, new rate calculation
Meanwhile, Hapag-Lloyd said it will implement a general rate increase (GRI) on the Far East westbound trade lane effective October 15.
The GRI of US$550 per TEU covers all cargoes and all container types on the East Asia (excluding Japan)-North Europe/Mediterranean trade lane.
East Asia is comprised of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Brunei, and the Russian Pacific ports of Vladivostok and Vostochny.
North Europe encompasses the Northwest Continent, UK, Scandinavia, Baltic, and the European ports of Russia, while the Mediterranean consists of the West Mediterranean, East Mediterranean, Black Sea, and North Africa.
The German box carrier also disclosed a new rate calculation for a 20-foot container from East Asia and ISC (Indian Subcontinent) to all U.S. and Canada destinations.
The new rate calculation will be implemented from October 15 and will apply to all dry, reefer, flat-rack, and open-top containers, but excludes out-of-gauge cargo and shipper-owned tanks.
“To determine the respective rate of a 20′ container, multiply the applicable (40′ x 8’6”) container rate by 0.85 and round off to the nearest five dollars,” a company release said.
Additionally, in the absence of a 20-foot rate, the same 85 percent will apply, it added.
Also effective October 15, Hapag-Lloyd will increase rates for its East Asia-U.S./Canada trade services.
The rate hikes to be imposed on all dry, reefer, flat-rack, and open-top containers will be as follows:
- $510 per 20-foot standard container
- $600 per 40-foot standard container
- $650 per 40-foot high-cube container
- $760 per 45-foot container
Photo: bertknot
