then buy buy buy.
By Alison Leung
HONG KONG, Nov 3 (Reuters) - China's COSCO is looking at shipping joint ventures with major oil importers to build new very large crude carriers (VLCC) as part of Beijing's plan to add more supertankers to its fleet by 2015, its chairman said.
Wei Jaifu, chairman of China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co (COSCO Group), said he expects the global shipping market to recover in 2013.
" I forecast that in 2013 we can move into recovery because of the China factor," he told Reuters on Thursday on the sidelines of the World Shipping (China) Summit in Boao, Hainan Island.
There is now a global oversupply of supertankers in operation or ordered and the industry has been hoping China would buy existing vessels rather than build new ones.
China's 12th five year economic plan, ending in 2015, will boost internal consumption and this will lift demand for shipping, Wei said.
Under the plan, China, the world's second largest oil user, is aiming for 50 percent of its seaborne oil imports to enter the country on Chinese vessels, he added.
Wei agreed with market estimates China will need about 80 more very large crude carriers (VLCC) to meet the target.
" We are very seriously participating in the project under the plan," Wei said.
Wei said COSCO had reached agreements with China's major oil importers on long-term contracts and now the company will move on building new ships and is in talks to form shipping joint ventures with them.
China's major oil importers are Sinopec and PetroChina Co Ltd .
State-owned COSCO Group, controls bulk cargo carrier and container ship operator China COSCO Holdings Co Ltd .
It also has a joint venture shipyard with Kawasaki Heavy Industries , NanTong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co. Ltd, which made China's first VLCC six years ago, Wei said.
Its Singapore-listed shipbuilding unit, COSCO Corporation Ltd , also has the ability to build 300,000 deadweight tonne oil tankers, he said.
But he did not specify which shipyard will build the VLCCs, an oil tanker that is between 200,000 and 300,000 dwt.
The country's two major stated-owned yards, China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), will also participate to build some of the mega tankers, Wei added.
Ship association BIMCO Chief Executive Torben Skaanild said on Wednesday that the oil tanker marker has been oversupplied by around 50 VLCCs. There are about 570-580 VLCCs in the market today and another 142 on order, he told Reuters.
He urged China to buy existing supertankers to meet its rising demand for oil transportation instead of building new ones.
" We may buy existing ships depending on the price," Wei said, adding China's other major shipping group, China Shipping (Group) Company, was also involved in the oil transportation project. (Reporting by Alison Leung Editing by Anthony Barker)
