COSCO shifts to fuel-efficient, smaller vessels

China Cosco Holdings Co, the container shipping line that posted three annual operating losses, said adding more fuel-efficient vessels will help cut costs enough to revive profits amid a capacity glut.

"The ships need to be filled for the cost savings to be achieved," said Guo Huawei, board secretary, in an interview on Friday. Operating bigger carriers can be "a double-edged sword", he said, as he declined to give an estimate for earnings or say when the company is likely to return to profit.

COSCO ordered five fuel-efficient container transports that carry as many as 14,500 20-foot boxes for delivery between 2017 and 2018, the Beijing-based company said last week.