CANAL CUSTOMERS China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO)
hina Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) is amongst the Panama Canal’s top 10 users and also one of the largest customers of the Panama Ship Registry. The Beijing- headquartered group owns and controls over 800 modern merchant vessels with a total tonnage of 56m dwt and an annual carrying capacity of 400m tonnes. In 2010, there were 176 vessels of 7,246,111gt under the flag of Panama. COSCO made
C
approximately 356 vessel transits in 2010 with total costs paid to Panama Canal Authority reaching nearly $40m. China, which uses the Canal extensively, has maintained strong economic growth but many ship owners and liners executives warn prudence. COSCO’s Group Chairman Capt Wei Jiafu cautions that, ‘We’ve had general recovery, but are still struggling,’ he said [in July 2011]. ‘Over the next three to four years we will see volatility in the recovery. I believe it is better for the industry to first find a balance to supply and demand and then act more aggressively. Cosco is a responsible company,’ he maintained. In Panama, shipping operations, during the first months of 2011 have followed a trend similar to 2010, says COSCO-Panama general manager Capt
During this 10-month period, some 187.34m long tonnes transited the Panama Canal. The US is the main customer of the waterway with 135.26m long tonnes [in FY 2010] of the total canal cargo having a US port origin/destination, followed by China, Chile, Japan, and South Korea. The Panama Canal has performed as forecast during FY 2010 (October 2009- September 2010) registering a slight decline in total transits to 14,230 vessels, down by 0.78% from 14,342 transits a year ago. During Q1-Q3 of FY 2011 (October 2010- September 2011), transits reached 11,416. Cargo volume increased slightly by 0.56% to 300.8m in Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System (PC/UMS) tonnes, up from 299.1m PC/UMS tonnes the previous year. During the three first quarters of FY 2011 (Q1- Q3) cargo volume totalled 246.8m PC/UMS tonnes, foreseeing an increase of tonnage in FY 2011.
Container cargo increased to 45.17m long tonnes during the first 10 months (October 2010-July 2011) of FY 2011, up from 41.56m long tonnes compared to FY 2010; as well as grains, up to 35.11m long tonnes, from 35.44m long tonnes in FY 2010. Other commodities also saw a rise to 33.86m long tonnes compared to 27.79m long tonnes a year ago and overall rose to 187.35m long tonnes compared to
PANAMA MARITIME REVIEW 2011/12
Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, and Puerto Limon in Costa Rica and Kingston, Jamaica since 2009.
‘The weekly service is successful and sails every 10 days with vessels chartered from CCT,’ explained Capt Zhang. COSCO-Panama also services vessels in the region
Capt Zhang Fucun
Zhang Fucun. In addition to the existing services, COSCO has opened a new weekly service for South America SWA since May 2011 beginning in the Far East and calling Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico in co-operation with Hanjin, Yang Ming and Wan Hai. The Chinese company has maintained its AWE 2 service calling weekly Panama’s Colon Container Terminal (CCT), which also receives all the feeder services operated by COSCO. So far, COSCO has a feeder line operating with one 900teu owned and managed vessel now out of CCT that links Barranquilla, Colombia,
172.08m long tonnes during the same period the year before.
The ACP forecast cargo volume at 322.3m tonnes for FY 2011, Sabonge told the American Association of Port Authorities meeting in Lima in June 2011. ‘This figure will break our record of cargo transiting through the waterway which was in 2007,’ he says. ‘It will be our best year ever.’ The main drivers of growth for the canal this year will be dry bulk, especially grains, Sabonge told delegates. The Canal expansion will impact shipping companies since the new locks will allow for the passage of vessels up to 14,000teu, thereby increasing lines' capacity, he adds. The ACP took a series of temporary
Origin Cargo Route
COSCO-Panama was transferred in 2003 to COSCON formerly COSCO Americas. It handles six branch agencies in Central America covering Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Panama and operates as a general agent for COSCO vessels and for other ships as well. All branches account to COSCO-Panama, which acts as an internal financial centre for group operations in the region.
‘We are always looking at opening new services, eventually with a new feeder for the South America Pacific West Coast as cargo volumes coming from SAWC are on the rise,’ adds Capt Zhang. COSCO Panama’s goals are to expand in the region, create a logistics centre in Central America that will serve its customers in the future and prepare for more traffic and business after the 2014 inauguration of the enlarged Panama Canal. ‘It would give our customers extra value,’ he says.
measures to reduce traffic costs and lend a hand to shipowners hard-hit by the recession, from June 1, 2009 through September 30, 2009. Those measures were extended to June 30, 2010 and have expired since then and the ACP ‘is not planning to renew them,’ says Sabonge. The ACP’s new toll structure entered force January 1, 2011, after opting not to raise tolls this year due to ‘the current world economic situation.’ However, reefer vessels were given a respite since increases were delayed from 1 January until 1 April 2011, at the end of the reefer season. ‘We have talked with industry representatives, shipping lines, including government representatives from
PANAMA CANAL MAIN CARGO ROUTES FY2010 (long tonnes) Destination Cargo Route
East Coast of the US Asia
Asia East Coast of the US West Coast of South America Europe
West Coast of South America East Coast of the US East Coast of the US East Coast of the US
West Coast of US
West Coast of US Europe
West Coast of South America West Coast of Central America
East Coast of South America West Coast of South America Europe
East Coast of South America Asia Others Total
FY 2010 FY 2011 (total FY)
(oct-jul)
52,271,906 48,488,773 24,928,753 22,052,945 11,376,482 10,170,860 9,842,823 8,734,014 14,388,835 13,000,532 8,421,557 7,254,978 6,723,097 7,100,810 3,730,436 2,770,462 2,728,109 2,232,459 3,796,146 6,152,725 66,646,000 59,387,987 204,854,145 187,346,548
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