Quay the new key to Yangtze

LEEWARD Group subsidiary Quay Shipping has been appointed the agent in Australia and New Zealand for Shanghai MingWah Shipping/Yangtze Navigation. 

Effective from next month’s sailings Quay will look after the China Merchants Group companies in both countries, with current schedules showing multiple sailings from, variously, Taicang, Shanghai and Tianjin to Brisbane, Newcastle, Melbourne, Port Adelaide, Hobart and Henderson. 

Founded in Shanghai by SINOTRANS & CSC, Yangtze Navigation has grown to become the second-largest specialized vessel operator in China. As a wholly owned subsidiary of China Merchants Group, the company focuses on dry bulk and breakbulk cargo and has been a trusted carrier to the Australian market for over a decade, Quay notes. 

Yangtze Navigation operates as a professional vessel owner, operator, and manager, maintaining a diverse fleet of approximately 50 vessels. The fleet includes multipurpose ships, heavy-lift vessels, log carriers, bulk carriers, and chemical tankers, with a combined transport capacity of 2,000,000 DWT.  

“Known for its advanced technology, balanced vessel mix, and optimized configurations, Yangtze Navigation currently offers two regular breakbulk sailings per month from China and Southeast Asia to Australia’s East and West Coast ports,” a Quay spokesperson said. 

“This appointment strengthens the longstanding partnership between Quay Shipping and China Merchants Group. Since 2008, Quay Shipping has exclusively represented Sinotrans Container Line, another specialized subsidiary within the Group. 

“We are delighted with this appointment and proud to further expand our strategic partnership with China Merchants Group. Adding Yangtze Navigation to our portfolio aligns with our vision of being the most versatile shipping agency in Australia, while also providing another quality brand for our Leeward Group Multimodal Solutions team to grow and develop.  

“This milestone reinforces how the Leeward Group is leading the way in today’s highly competitive shipping industry, while continuing to set the benchmark for agency services,” the spokesperson said. 

Yangtze usually deploys handysize bulk carrier/loggers, fitted with 4 x 30t cranes on the Oceania route to handle steels, equipment, general/bagged and bulk cargoes. It has recently begun to allocate a new series of 5 hold/5 hatch 40,000 DWT open-hatch bulk ships, with JNS Qilin to be followed by JNS Harmony and JNS Propserity, all newly delivered by Jiangmen Nanyang Ship Engineering. 

Quay Shipping is taking over representation from Pioneer Shipping.

* In an earlier version of the story DCN reported that Pioneer Shipping's John Ge is retiring. This is incorrect: Mr Ge has a commercial arrangement with Yangtze for cargo work, and chartering. DCN apologises for the error.