Ship line Cosco orders 8 cargo ships

CHINA Cosco Holdings Co, owner of China’s second-largest container shipping line, placed a US$516.8 million order for eight new cargo ships, as rising trade boosts demand for sea freight.

The vessels, which will each have a capacity of 5,100 standard 20-foot containers, will be delivered between 2009 and 2010, Beijing-based China Cosco said in a statement yesterday. The company will buy the ships from China State Shipbuilding Corp and its unit Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) Co.