BIMCO opens Shanghai Center office

SHANGHAI - The world's largest international shipping association opened its Shanghai Center office on Monday, making it the city's first international shipping organization.

The Copenhagen-based Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) has more than 2,500 members around the world, and they control more than 15,000 ships and over 65 percent of the world's tonnage.

Nearly 75 percent of international shipping industry trade and other relative industries in the world go by BIMCO's contracts and clauses.

Torben Skaanild, secretary general of BIMCO, said the establishment of the center in Shanghai is a milestone for the council.

BIMCO will help China to amplify the "voice" of the Chinese shipping industry on the world shipping stage, especially in making international shipping standards and trade rules, Torben said.

Statistics show that the container throughput of the Shanghai Port reached 32 million TEUs in 2012, which has made it the largest container port in the world for three consecutive years.

However, the city had no representative or acknowledged shipping organizations prior to BIMCO.

Shanghai will improve its infrastructure construction to build itself into an international shipping center, as well as develop its shipping service industries that rely on BIMCO, which include shipping trade, shipping finance, consultation and marine technology, said Zhang Lin, deputy director of Shanghai Municipal Transport and Port Authority.