China currently owns the largest container fleet

The chairman of the German Shipowners Association (VDR) - Alfred Hartmann - said that China had surpassed Germany and became the country with the largest container fleet.

The ship figures illustrate that Hartmann, Chinese companies, are listed as owners of a total of 3.63 million TEUs, compared with 2.81 million TEUs owned by owners in Germany.

Hartmann said that the fact that China will surpass us in this respect is clearly foreseen: for one thing, the simple reason is that many larger container ships are being built today; moreover, this was expected after the prolonged crisis following 2009.

State-owned COSCO Shipping Lines, which also owns a majority stake in OOCL, has expanded its fleet by building large container ships at its shipbuilding branches, including including five 23,000TEU ships ordered by OOCL March 11.

Another reason for China's dominance is that while the Germans are the main tonnage provider for container ship operators, due to the global financial crisis and European banks, their portfolios in the shipping industry, creating opportunities for financial lenders from China.

These financial lenders include ICBC, Minsheng and Media Bank, among others, they are subsidiaries of Chinese banks and shipbuilding companies, providing financing for new shipbuilding or Buy and charter ships. In May 2019, Maersk Shipyard ordered annually 2,500TEU container ships from the Jiangnan Shipyard, through a lease agreement with financial leasing company ICBC.

VDR's CEO, Ralf Nagel, said in the same press release that in order to maintain owners' competitiveness in Germany, the government must maintain the current tax breaks for these owners. .

"In order to survive today's fierce global competition, the shipping industry must be able to compete from Germany's position on an international scale," Nagel said. Nagel added: "We are not concerned about privileges, but simply in equal opportunities."

Phaata (Source: Martina Li / Container News)

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