COSCO launches new shipping giant

Move will strengthen firm's capabilities in shipping oil, gas to safeguard energy security

China COSCO Shipping Co, the country's largest shipping company by fleet size, officially launched COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation Co in Shanghai on Monday, creating the world's largest oil tanker fleet in terms of both ship numbers and deadweight tonnage.

With a total of 105 oil tankers, including nine liquefied natural gas carriers and a deadweight tonnage of 17.04 million, the new company has the world's biggest fleet of oil tankers and the largest transport capacity of its kind. The asset value of COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation accounts for 11 percent of COSCO Shipping's total assets, and its oil tanker fleet holds 20 percent of the group's entire shipping capacity. COSCO Shipping Chairman Xu Lirong said that the establishment of the new company is a practical way to achieve business scale and synergies particularly in the sectors of energy shipping and logistics, in order to better compete with other established global rivals.