COSCO scraps 16 ships

   COSCO said it is scrapping 12 container ships and four bulk carriers to the breakers as part of a fleet decommissioning plan.
   According to a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the vessels, with the aggregate capacity of 803,087 deadweight tons, were sold as scrap at a total consideration of approximately 466.49 million Chinese Yuan Renminbi ($74.6 million).
   The company said that based on the final financial audit, losses incurred from the disassembly of vessels were approximately RMB793.53 million as of March 31.
   The twelve container vessels to be decommissioned are Longhou, Conghe, Yanhe, Longhe, Shenghe, Tenghe, Zhonghe, Puhe, Taihe, Junhe, Yuanhe and Feihe, all of which were previously owned by COSCO Container Lines Co. The four bulk carriers to be decommissioned are Pengye, Pengqing, Xinshenghai and Bailuhai, all of which were previously owned by China COSCO Bulk Shipping (Group) Company.
   The company said retirement of the old vessels will reduce the average age of its fleet, reduce fuel consumption, increase “environmental friendliness,” and enhance the “overall operating competitiveness of the company’s shipping fleet.”