China delivers sixth bulk cargo carrier to Cuba

China delivers sixth bulk cargo carrier to Cuba



State-owned Shanghai Shipyard Co. Ltd. delivered the sixth of 10 bulk

cargo ships Cuba has ordered in China, official news service ACN reported.



The 35,000-ton grains carrier was delivered in Shanghai in the presence

of the Cuban ambassador in Beijing, Alberto Blanco. The ship was named

after revolutionary heroine Lidia Doce.



Neither of the two sides has revealed the financial terms of the order

by Cuba's Empresa Importadora General del Transporte (EIGT), on behalf

of Grupo Acemex, with Chinese state company China National Machinery

Import & Export Corporation (CMC). The purchases are financed by China's

Eximbank. According to observers, the order for 10 35,000-ton handymax

vessels is worth at least $250 million. The order came in September

2009, ending a one-year drought for the state-owned shipyard.



The addition of 10 cargo ships will boost the tonnage of Cuba's merchant

marine and allow it to trade with far-flung partners such as Iran,

Ecuador or Angola. The addition of grain vessels will lower the cost of

grain imports for Cuba; foreign shippers charge a premium for serving

Cuba because the United States prohibits ships coming from Cuba to dock

at U.S. ports.



In August 2011, the same shipyard in Shanghai delivered the first

35,000-ton ship, the Abdala.



Employees of Cuban state company Acemex are supervising the construction

of the ships.



http://www.cubastandard.com/2013/04/29/china-delivers-sixth-bulk-cargo-carrier-to-cuba/