China Ocean Shipping Company Review

Shanghai-based China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) is one of the largest and fastest growing container shipping companies in the world. Its core shipping business is focused on handling Chinese imports and exports, including international auto shipping. It also derives a major portion of its revenues from cross trade cargoes.

Diverse Services

In addition to international shipping, the company offers a variety of related services, including freight forwarding, warehousing, and intermodal services such as rail, truck and barge services. The company also offers a range of diversified services, including insurance, ship repair and real-estate services.

Large Fleet and Cargo Capacity

COSCO currently owns and operates a total of 117 container vessels, and it leases additional capacity on several other ships. In total, China Ocean Shipping Company owns or leases over 535,000 twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) containers, including over 22,000 refrigerated units. With services in more than 1,000 ports globally, the company connects more ports of call than any other container shipping service in the world.

International Operations

China Ocean Shipping Company maintains offices in 49 countries, and has operational agencies in a total of 1,000 cities spread over 160 countries. The company’s U.S. headquarters is based in New York, but it maintains offices in a total of 14 North American cities, including three offices in Canada. In addition, it maintains regional offices in countries as far flung as Hamburg, Sydney, Dubai, Johannesburg and Tokyo.

Investments Fuel Growth

Established in 1961, China Ocean Shipping Company has fueled its growth by making significant investments in newer, larger ships. Over the last few years, the company has purchased five new ships, each with a capacity of 5,250 TEU or greater. COSCO today offers a range of 20′ and 40′ container options, flat-racks, refrigerated containers and other special options for shipping cargo. Significant improvements in scheduling and logistics management capabilities have also helped COSCO greatly speed up its transit times on major international shipping lanes.