Adjust the Capacity on Shipping Routes to Reduce Fuel Oil Consumption

        Confronted with the shortage of fuel oil supply and the sharp rise of fuel price, the Company determined to adjust shipping capacity to reduce fuel oil consumption and thus lower cost. The Company adjusted the vessel-times of liners on its major long-distance routes and thus lower the cruising speed and the fuel oil consumption of the propellers. The Company first carried out the plan of “increasing the number of vessels from 8 to 9” on the Far East/ Europe Route and “from 5 to 6” on the Transpacific Ocean Route. In this way, the Company not only kept its liner schedules but also kept each vessel’s actual speed within an ideal oil-saving state, and as a result decreased fuel oil consumption to a great degree (the increase of propeller’s speed is in cubic relationship with the increase of oil consumption). Meanwhile, these measures kept the Company’s financial payout under control and reached the dual target of saving energy and controlling cost. Now, this mode has gradually spread in the shipping industry and restrained the growth of shipping capacity to some degree. The mode can also help to improve the balance between supply and demand.
        To improve the quality of fuel oil, increase its burning rate and thus reduce the environment impact of the waste gases emitted by the propelling engine, the Company applies additive that can support and stabilize burning. In 2007, the Company invested RMB12 million Yuan in the procurement of fuel additive.