Asia/Pacific News
COSCO Group Slashes $400M from its 2014 Bunker Bill
China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO Group) achieved $400 million in fuel savings during 2014 compared to the previous year, Seatrade Global reports.
Group Chairman Ma Zehua told Chinese media he attributed the savings to structural and operational changes made by the group, including its slow steaming practices.
"In the past, we had 10 containerships heading to Europe, sailing at a fast speed and using up a lot of fuel," said Ma.
"After adding more ships to the route and reducing the vessel speed, we have greatly cut down on the use of fuel and lowered our operating expenditure as well," he said.
Ship & Bunker data also shows that in the fourth quarter of 2014 there was a dramatic slide in bunker prices, which currently sit at around half their price of six months ago.
In addition to the fuel savings, Ma also noted that COSCO Group had lowered the average age of its fleet over the last two years, lowering it to 10.4 years from 14.2, after scrapping older ships and bringing in newer ones.
This month, COSCO Group announced it had secured a $1.75 billion loan facility to finance the building of 53 new vessels.
