China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) is expected to switch from a container liner operator into an integrated financial services platform with leasing businesses following the approval for a major asset restructuring outlined in February. The company’s new sectors would cover vessel leasing, container leasing and non-shipping leasing as core and shipping financing as a feature. As a result of this, the company’s Board of Directors proposes to change the name from China Shipping Container Lines Company Limited to COSCO Shipping Development Co., Ltd. Wärtsilä has been awarded the contract to supply a series of newbuild Chinese container vessels with a total of 24 nine-cylinder Wärtsilä 32 Auxpac generating sets. The units will power six 21,000 TEU capacity ships being built at the Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipyard (SWS) for CSCL. The order was placed in June with Wärtsilä’s joint venture company CSSC Wärtsilä Engine (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. (CWEC). The Wärtsilä 32 is the most powerful of the company’s Auxpac range of generating sets. In March of this year, the engine was ordered for 8 new CSCL container ships, in January 2015 for 5 new container vessels built for China Ocean Shipping Group (COSCO), and also in 2015 for another 11 new COSCO vessels. Four Wärtsilä 32 engines are required for each ship and delivery of the latest order is scheduled for mid-2017.

CMA CGM announced on 13th June that it planned to delist Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) following its takeover of the Singaporean operator. Minority shareholders could sell their shares to CMA CGM until 18th July. That same day CMA CGM and PSA Singapore Terminals Pte Ltd. unveiled plans for a joint venture company CMA CGM-PSA Lion Terminal Pte. Ltd. (CPLT) to operate and use four mega container berths at Pasir Panjang Terminal Phases 3 and 4 in Singapore. CPLT will start operations from the second half of 2016 to provide long-term terminal services to CMA CGM and its shipping line affiliates, hence securing best-inclass services for its fleet.

On 28th June CMA CGM passed the 91.05% ownership threshold of NOL and intended to exercise its compulsory acquisition rights. Following its all-cash voluntary conditional general offer for NOL which was launched on 6th June 2016, CMA CGM owned 2,376,715,557 shares as of 28th June, representing approximately 91.28% of NOL’s share capital. NOL shareholders who had not accepted the offer, at a price equal to the Offer Price of SGD1.30, in accordance with the Companies Act (Chapter 50 of Singapore) would be subject to CMA CGM’s compulsory acquisition rights once the July deadline passes.

The 65,730gt/2004 built and 5,770 TEU capacity containership CMA CGM Rossini suffered a fire in hold No.5 whilst at the port of Colombo, Sri Lanka on 15th June. The fire broke out as the ship was berthing. There were no injuries reported in the incident and the company said that the fire did not spread to other containers in the hold. The ship operates on the Europe Australia Express (EAX) service. The new Panama Canal system has also been declared a major strategic route to CMA CGM among others. The canal decreases by 11,000 kilometres the distance between Shanghai and New York on the Manhattan Bridge CMA CGM Service, compared to a route via Cape Horn and decreases by 8,700 kilometres the distance between Malta and Guayaquil on the MGE CMA CGM Service. In 2015, the CMA CGM Group was the canal’s second largest client for containerised transport. Today eight Group services sail through the Canal representing one vessel a day.