Cosco-CSCL Unveil Merger Date

Chinese state-run shipping lines Cosco and China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) have announced an expected date for its merger to begin operations and will happen around March 1 and is in line with a recent announcement by CSCL that its assets will be combined in early 2016, according to the Journal of Commerce.

The two container lines will be operating as a new entity which will entail ship leasing and the swapping of assets under the new deal.

Cosco will be managing container shipping operations while CSCL will be focusing primarily on ship leasing and financing.

Technical Paper: Tackling the Biggest Alliances

The merger was given official approval after the Chinese State Council recently signed off the new alliance, presumably in a bid to combine assets and stay afloat in an unpredictable market.

Cosco recently made a binding offer for a 67% stake in Piraeus Port, which is said to be at around US$758 million.

Beneficial cargo owners recently expressed concerns over the new mergers that are due to take place in 2016, since they are unsure about how they will impact the supply chain.

Each shipping company’s prospective alliance will also likely be affected, as will port calls and the pressure placed on ports and container terminals to handle increasing volumes.

Once completed, the two shipping companies will climb the rankings to become the fourth largest shipping company globally.

Read: The Top 10 Container Lines 2016