Cosco Shipping Bulk Co, the bulk shipping arm of conglomerate Coscocs, has been officially established in Guangzhou, China on Thursday.

The forming of Cosco Shipping Bulk was a result of a structural reorganisation following the merger of China Cosco Group and China Shipping Group to become China Cosco Shipping Corporation (Coscocs).

The new Chinese bulk shipping company integrates the dry bulk shipping assets of the two state-owned shipping groups, creating the world’s largest bulk fleet owner with 382 vessels of 34.58m dwt.

But in line with its strategy of capacity and cost optimisation, Cosco Shipping Bulk plans to scrap 53 elderly vessels with a total capacity of 2.89m dwt within the next two years.

In March this year, Coscocs launched its container shipping arm China Lines, which is scheduled to become fully operation in July.

Coscocs itself was officially launched in February this year after the merger was approved by Beijing in December 2015.