Asia/Pacific News
BIMCO Opens Shanghai Location
Copenhagen-based international shipping association Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) today opened an office in Shanghai, China, making it the first international shipping association to do so.
BIMCO says it is the largest of the international shipping associations representing shipowners, controlling 65% of the world tonnage, and has members in more than 120 counties.
Torben Skaanild, secretary general of BIMCO, was quoted as saying the establishment of the centre in Shanghai is a milestone for the council.
China's Xinhua News Agency reported that container throughput of the Shanghai Port reached 32 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in 2012, which has made it the largest container port in the world for three consecutive years, however the city had no representative or acknowledged shipping organisations prior to BIMCO's arrival.
Monday's opening was marked by a Senior Leadership Forum held at the Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong Hotel, which BIMCO said would provide a platform for a positive exchange on China's role in international shipping.
