The China Navigation Company

What The China Navigation Company does

The China Navigation Company (CNCo) is the deep-sea shipping arm of the Swire Group, a diversified conglomerate with heritage dating to 1816. Founded in 1872 as a paddle-steamer operator on the Yangtze River, CNCo has operated continuously for over 150 years and formally adopted the legal name Swire Shipping Pte Ltd in 2021. The company is headquartered in Singapore, relocated from Hong Kong in 2010, and maintains a regional headquarters in Shanghai opened in November 2018. CNCo is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Swire Group and operates as a private company with no public listing.

CNCo's operations revolve around two main businesses: Swire Shipping and Swire Bulk. Swire Shipping provides liner shipping, break bulk, global industrial project solutions, and integrated landside logistics, connecting more than 400 ports globally using self-geared vessels equipped with mobile gantry cranes that enable flexible cargo handling across diverse port environments. Swire Bulk provides bespoke dry bulk shipping solutions for clean energy, renewables, grain, and construction materials, operating in part through the Swire CTM Bulk Logistics 50/50 joint venture formed in 2008 with Monaco-based C Transport Maritime. In 2020, the company launched Swire Projects as a dedicated division of Swire Shipping to serve the energy, resource, and infrastructure sectors with specialist heavy-lift and project cargo services; the company also acquired Hamburg Süd's bulk shipping activities in 2019.

The company generates revenue through transaction-fee based service agreements, with quote-based pricing varying by cargo type, volume, route, and contract terms. Its customer base spans global commercial cargo shippers (manufacturing, trading, and retail), bulk commodity producers and traders, and energy/resource/infrastructure sector clients requiring complex project logistics. Distribution relies on enterprise direct sales through offices in Singapore and Shanghai, with marketing conducted primarily through the swireshipping.com and swirebulk.com corporate websites and LinkedIn corporate pages. The China Navigation Company is a private subsidiary within the Swire Group conglomerate, with no public shareholders and no disclosed revenue figures.

Name

The China Navigation Company

Legal name

The China Navigation Company

Website

https://swirecnco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1872

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

The China Navigation Company, operating as Swire Shipping, is the deep-sea shipping arm of the Swire Group, providing liner, break bulk, project cargo, and integrated logistics services connecting 400+ ports globally for enterprise cargo and bulk commodity clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Deep Sea Shipping and Maritime Logistics Services

NAICS

Deep Sea Freight Transportation (483111), Water Transportation (483), Freight Transportation Arrangement (488510)

SIC

Deep Sea Foreign Transportation Of Freight (4412), Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731), Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Project & OOG/Breakbulk Ocean Forwarding (Out-of-Gauge, RoRo) (TLACABAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

NVOCC Operations & Ocean Consolidation (TLACABAC), LCL (Less-than-Container Load) Consolidation/Deconsolidation (TLACABAB)

Keywords

• Deep sea shipping
• Containerised liner services
• Break bulk cargo
• Project cargo logistics
• Dry bulk shipping

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Liner Shipping Services: Containerised shipping services connecting global ports for cargo transport.
2. Break Bulk Shipping: Specialised shipping services for non-containerised cargo including heavy lift and oversized project cargo.
3. Global Industrial Project Solutions: End-to-end logistics solutions for energy, resource, and infrastructure sector projects.
4. Integrated Landside Logistics: Comprehensive logistics services including warehousing, distribution, and supply chain management.
5. Dry Bulk Commodities: Bespoke bulk shipping solutions for dry bulk commodities including clean energy, renewables, grain, and construction materials.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

The China Navigation Company operates deep-sea shipping and logistics services through two main divisions. Swire Shipping provides liner shipping, break bulk, global industrial project solutions, and integrated landside logistics, connecting more than 400 ports globally. Swire Bulk provides global coverage for dry bulk commodities and bespoke bulk shipping solutions for clean energy, renewables, grain, and construction materials sectors. The service suite also includes Swire Projects for specialist shipping to the energy, resource, and infrastructure sectors.

Product overview

The China Navigation Company operates as a deep sea shipping arm of the Swire Group with two main operating businesses: Swire Shipping and Swire Bulk. Swire Shipping is a one-stop-shop for containerised, breakbulk, project and integrated logistics, while Swire Bulk provides global coverage for dry bulk commodities and bespoke bulk shipping solutions. Additionally, Swire Projects (created in 2020) offers specialist shipping services to the energy, resource, and infrastructure sectors. The company connects more than 400 ports globally and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2022.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Swire Projects: Specialist shipping services to the energy, resource, and infrastructure sectors

Products and services

• Swire Shipping A comprehensive shipping division offering liner shipping, break bulk, global industrial project solutions, and integrated landside logistics services, connecting more than 400 ports globally for manufacturing, trading, and retail enterprises.
• Swire Bulk A bulk shipping division providing global coverage for dry bulk commodities and bespoke bulk shipping solutions, serving clean energy, renewables, grain, and construction materials sectors.
• Swire Projects A division of Swire Shipping providing specialist shipping services to the energy, resource, and infrastructure sectors, focused on complex project cargo and heavy-lift logistics.
• Swire CTM Bulk Logistics A 50/50 joint venture between CNCo and Monaco-based C Transport Maritime (CTM) formed to deliver comprehensive bulk logistics operations.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• C Transport Maritime (CTM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Monaco-based C Transport Maritime partnered with CNCo to form Swire CTM Bulk Logistics, a 50/50 joint venture established in 2008. This strategic partnership combined CTM's bulk shipping expertise with CNCo's global network to create a comprehensive bulk logistics operation. The venture enabled expansion of bulk shipping activities under the Swire brand.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Hapag-Lloyd: Major container liner, member of THE Alliance; overlaps with CNCo on trans-Pacific and Asia-Middle East/Europe lanes, with a global network of comparable scale.
• Evergreen Marine Corporation: Taiwan-based global container carrier with strong Asia-Europe and trans-Pacific presence; competes with CNCo on containerized trades and is similarly sized in tonnage deployment.
• Ocean Network Express (ONE): Japan-headquartered global container carrier formed from three Japanese liner companies; competes on trans-Pacific and Asia trades, with comparable service scope and similar mid-to-large fleet footprint.
• Maersk: World's largest container shipping line and integrated logistics provider; competes with CNCo on global liner trades but operates at vastly larger scale with end-to-end supply chain offerings.
• CMA CGM: Top-tier global container carrier with strong presence on Asia-Europe, trans-Pacific, and intra-Asia trades, plus growing logistics arm; directly overlaps with Swire Shipping's containerized and logistics offerings.
• Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC): Second-largest container carrier globally; competes directly on Pacific and Asia-Europe routes and offers overlapping containerized and breakbulk services, but at materially greater scale.
• COSCO Shipping: China's flagship container and bulk carrier; competes with CNCo heavily on intra-Asia and trans-Pacific routes, while offering a broader portfolio of vessel types including bulk.

Direct peers

• Pacific International Lines (PIL): Singapore-headquartered mid-tier container liner with multi-trade Asia-Pacific network, comparable in scale and regional focus to CNCo's Swire Shipping operations and the closest like-for-like peer in footprint and customer base.
• Star Bulk Carriers: Global dry bulk shipowner operating a large Newcastlemax/Capesize/Panamax fleet across major bulks; directly comparable to Swire Bulk's dry bulk commodity shipping services.
• Oldendorff Carriers: Germany-based leading global dry bulk shipowner with strong project and heavy-lift capabilities; highly comparable to Swire Bulk's bespoke dry bulk and project cargo business model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/swire-shipping

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The China Navigation Company