Cosco Shipping Limited (Coscol) has booked a sharp increase in net profit for the financial year 2014, as it benefitted from cost cutting measures and government subsidies.

Cosco Corporation (Singapore) Limited has warned of significantly lower earnings for its financial year ended 31 December 2014 due mainly to a one-off charge of around $90m relating to an Octabuoy hull and topside module project.

State-owned China Cosco Holdings has announced the disposal of 17 vessels with a combined tonnage of 919,853 dwt.

Cosco (Guangdong) Shipyard has won an order to build a livestock carrier valued at approximately $30m from a European buyer.

Guangzhou Ocean Shipping, wholly-owned by Cosco Shipping, will invest RMB240.62m ($39.28m) to acquire a 11.49% stake in Total Lubricants (China).

The last shipment of gates for the future locks arrived Wednesday in Panama, marking another  milestone for the canal expansion programme.

China Cosco Holdings has posted a profit in the third quarter, reversing from the loss it recorded a year ago.

The CKYHE Alliance of Cosco, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), Yang Ming, Hanjin Shipping and Evergreen Line has filed papers with regulators to expand its cooperation to US trades.

Cosco Shipping Co Ltd (Coscol) has stayed in the black in the first nine months, leaving behind a net loss position a year ago.

China Cosco has benefitted from the ongoing China government drive to boost ship scrapping, announcing that it received a subsidy of RMB1.38bn ($224.8m) for the decommissioning and upgrading of vessels.