Cosco and China Shipping are keeping their shares suspended, the pair have said, until what they describe as a complex matter which may involve asset restructuring is complete. The groups’ listed units stopped trading on August 10, claiming they were “planning major issues”, a move widely seen as a merger of China’s top two lines.

Combined, Cosco and China Shipping would have a fleet more than $10bn more valuable than any other line in the world, according to data from VesselsValue.com.

Sources at both groups have said a five-man team is now midway through a three-month review with how best to push ahead with the merger. At the same time Sinotrans&CSC and China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES), two other big state run lines, have been linked with a merger.