[ COSCO TO BUILD FIRST U.S. TERMINAL AT THE PORT OF LONG BEACH ]

Officials from China Ocean Shipping Company and the port of Long Beach
today signed a letter of intent to build the Chinese carrier its firs
t dedicated terminal in the United States.
The 130-acre container terminal will be located on the site of the for
mer Long Beach Naval Station, which was closed in September, 1994. The
port has negotiated to begin developing the property this summer.
“COSCO has been a valued customer of the Port of Long Beach for fifte
en years, and is now one of the fastest growing carriers in the port.
” said Long Beach Harbor Commission Presedent Roy E. Hearrean. “Than
ks to COSCO’s direct service to the booming merkets in the People’s
Republic of China, and its excellent service throughout Asia, the comp
any is registering double-digit growth. They need more space in Long B
each and we are honored to provide them with their first dedicated U.S
. home.”
COSCO has shared space with other carriers at Pacific Container Termin
al since 1981, and now calls twice weekly in Long Beach with both its
Pacific Southwest and Pacific Northwest services. The company’s Long
Beach throughout soared by 40 percent last fiscal year.
“There is no doubt that we need more terminal space in Southern Calif
ornia”said Capt. Li Kelin, executive vice presedent of the COSCO (Gro
up), who traveled to Long Beach from Beijing for the signing ceremony
at the Port of Long Beach. “We explored several options, and determin
ed that the configuration of the Long Beach terminal would best serve
our needs.”
COSCO’s new terminal is slated to open in early 1998. It will feature
50-foot berthside water depths to accommodate the company’s new flee
t of 5,250 TEU containerships, scheduled to be deployed later this yea
r. The facility also will feature post-panamax sized cranes to reach a
cross 18 rows of containers.
The terminal will have direct access to the open seas and a dockside r
ailyard to handle COSCO’s intermodal shipments to the U.S. midwest, G
ulf Coast and eastern seaboard.
“We value COSCO’s business, and we are pleased to offer them a custo
mized terminal that meets their future needs,” said Port of Long Beac
h Executive Director S.R Dillenbeck. “The agreement we signed today c
ulminates many months of negotiations between COSCO and the port. They
have put their individual needs. We intend to build them a facility o
f which they can be proud.”
China Ocean Shipping Company is celebrating its 35th anniversary this
year. The COSCO Group comprises more than 150 different companies in t
he People’s Republic of China. COSCO’s ahipping division has a fleet
of 573 ships, including containerships, tankers, bulk and breakbulk c
arriers.
The carrier calls in 150 countries and region around the world.