China Navigation changes name to streamline its business

China Navigation Company (CNCo), a ship owning and operating arm of the Swire Group, has been renamed Swire Shipping, as part of a strategy to streamline its brands.

The company offers multipurpose liner services through Swire Shipping for the global transportation of containerised, breakbulk, heavy lift and project cargoes, whilst its Projects division provides specialist shipping services to the energy, resource and infrastructure sectors in the global project logistics market. In January 2021, CNCo’s bulk shipping division became a standalone entity under Swire Bulk Pte Ltd.

“The name change is expected to be seamless,” said James Woodrow, Managing Director, Swire Shipping. “It will not impact the existing nature and structure of the company, nor will it affect existing relations with customers, partners, suppliers, financial institutions, manufacturing, contracts, personnel and/or shareholders.”

Following the renaming, Swire Shipping will continue to be focused on the Pacific. In August, the company embarked on the renaming of the vessels in its fleet. By the end of October 2021, the majority of the vessels will be named after a Pacific Island nation or location. 

Earlier this year, the firm also announced that it has commenced work on Project Cerulean to build a low-carbon, low-cost sail-assisted inter-island cargo vessel to serve communities in the Pacific that lack cargo handling infrastructure.

The name of the holding company in the UK – The China Navigation Company Ltd – will remain unchanged. Similarly, the names of the company’s subsidiary and branches in China will be retained, the firm concluded.