State-owned conglomerate China Cosco Shipping has unveiled a freight trading platform for coastal dry bulk shipping in a rare example of a major owner taking the initiative in digitalising transactions.
While cargo owners and third-party start-ups have established online freight platforms with various degrees of success in recent years, few shipowners have shown the ambition of pushing forward an all-inclusive online space where transactions can be completed.
While Cosco Shipping Bulk, the non-listed bulker arm of Cosco Shipping, has become the first user of this platform, Cosco Shipping Technology (CST)—the project developer—said it hopes the system can attract other shipowners that operate in the Chinese coastal bulker trade.
“With this platform backed by our technology, we are aiming to become a pillar of the ecosystem of coastal bulker shipping,” according to a web statement from CST, the Shenzhen-listed subsidiary of Cosco Shipping that focuses on maritime technologies.
“The goal is to establish sound market order and environment while providing the technology required for contracting. We hope this can promote healthy industry development.”
The Cosco bulker arm owns 285 vessels of 32.8m dwt, the largest in the world in terms of carrying capacity, according to Clarksons.
Of those ships, 118 vessels totalling 7.69m dwt are flagged in China and eligible to participate in the Chinese coastal trade.
China’s coastal bulker markets have been plagued by oversupply in recent years. Government data showed the segment’s trading fleet was composed of 1,832 vessels of 62.5m dwt as of end-December, up 13.1% from the year-ago level.
Cosco Shipping Bulk has been operating an online freight platform via an internal web interface and WeChat on a trial basis since November 2015.
According to CST, the platform has attracted 122 shipowners. As of end 2018, total freight transaction volume reached 285m tonnes and value amounted to CNY 9.8bn ($1.46bn).
When formally coming online later in March, chuanhuoyi.com—the new Cosco platform—will provide lists of cargoes and vessels, business intelligence while allowing cargo matching and bidding, CST added.
