Hong Kong-listed shipping company China COSCO Holdings Company Limited Group (COSCO) has disassembled fourteen vessels, including one containership and thirteen bulk carriers, from 1 February 2015 to 31 March 2015 within its fleet renovation plan.
The vessels, with the aggregate capacity of 924,700 deadweight tons, were disposed of as scrapped vessels to different purchasers at a total consideration of approximately RMB211 million (around USD 35.5 million).
According to the company’s unaudited financial results for the month ended 31 March 2015, realized losses incurred from sending the said vessels to scrapyard amounted to approximately RMB72 million (around USD 11 million).
The decommissioned container vessel was previously owned by the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary COSCO Container Lines Co., Ltd. (COSCON), and the decommissioned bulk carriers were previously owned by China COSCO Bulk Shipping (COSCO Bulk).
As a result of the decommissioning, the average age of vessels owned by COSCON and COSCO Bulk has decreased, while the oil saving level and overall environmental friendliness of the vessels have improved, the company said in a stock exchange filing.
“The Board considers that the decommissioning of the vessels is conducive to enhancing the overall operational competitiveness of the shipping fleet of the company and is in the interest of the company and the shareholders as a whole,” the filing reads.
World Maritime News Staff; Image: Port of Hamburg