China Shipping leapfrogs APL as world’s fifth-largest box carrier

China Shipping leapfrogs APL as world’s fifth-largest box carrier    China Shipping Container Lines has overtaken APL as the fifth-largest ocean container carrier, when measured in container fleet capacity.
   According to statistics provided by BRS-Alphaliner, China Shipping operates 119 container ships with a total capacity of 330,087 TEUs, ahead of APL with 102 vessels totaling 325,345 TEUs.
   Since Friday, China Shipping has received two 4,250-TEU vessels, “CSCL Brisbane” and “New Haikou,” helping it pass APL’s capacity.
   The “CSCL Brisbane” will be deployed on China Shipping’s recently started weekly all-water AMAX service calling Asia, Canada and the U.S. East Coast via the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean. The “New Haikou” will be used in the intra-Asian trade, China Shipping said.
   The fast-growing Chinese carrier’s position will soon be under threat, though, if Hapag-Lloyd’s parent company TUI AG’s planned takeover of CP Ships is successful. TUI said it plans to combine Hapag-Lloyd’s and CP Ships’ operations, creating a fleet of 139 ships with a capacity of more than 400,000 TEUs.
   China Shipping has been heavily linked in the past with a takeover of CP Ships and rumors persist that it will challenge TUI’s offer with a counter bid anytime soon.
   Before its 2004 initial public offering, China Shipping said it plans to expand its fleet to 144 vessels with a capacity of about 434,000 TEUs by the end of 2007.