Peter T. Leach | Nov 05, 2009 9:05AM EST
“K” Line is buying a minority stake in a ship repair yard on China’s Zhoushan Islands that will give it access to facilities for very large container ships.
The Japanese shipping line agreed to buy a 12 percent stake in Zhejiang Eastern Shipyard Co., the joint venture between Hanjin Shipping and Shunhe Shipping.
“K” Line said Thursday it had accepted ZESCO’s increase in capital for third parties together with Shanghai Changjiang Shipping, which is part of China’s Sinotrans group.
As a main shareholder and user “K” Line will secure repair slots for large-size vessels at ZESCO, which it said is “very conveniently” near Shanghai Yangshan and can accommodate all kinds of vessels without any narrow navigation restriction on the river.
After “K” Line’s investment in ZESCO, the ownership stakes will be Hanjin Shipping of South Korea with 34 percent, Shunhe Shipping of China with 34 percent, Shanghai Changjiang Shipping with 20 percent and “K” Line with 12 percent.
Contact Peter T. Leach at pleach@joc.com.
