News / Sea Legend joins opportunists launching Red Sea services

Photo: VesselFinder

One Singapore-incorporated start-up is taking advantage of the Red Sea crisis to launch a container shipping service to the high-risk area.

Sea Legend Shipping was incorporated in February 2023 and is held by the British Virgin Islands (BVI)-registered Sea World Legend Holdings. A Singaporean, Deng Ping, is its director.

Its website says Sea Legend owns 10 containerships, ranging from 1,800 to 4,900 teu claims that the Chinese navy is escorting its vessels through the Red Sea.

Opportunistic operators have been capitalising on the lack of tonnage to start Red Sea services, as 90% of ships that used to transit the Red Sea are diverting round the Cape of Good Hope to avoid Houthi attacks. Last week, The Loadstar reported that China United Lines had started a China-Red Sea service.

Ships crossing the Red Sea have resorted to highlighting non-calls at Israel and their Chinese links via their AIS notifications. During a recent passage through Bab el Mandeb Strait, the OVP Taurus broadcast an AIS message claiming an “all Chinese [crew]”.

Marie Kelly, VP of defence at P&I Club Gard, noted in a recent seminar that Chinese operators looking to operate Red Sea transits were copying carrier behaviour during the heyday of Somali piracy.

“Vessels used to display an ‘armed guards on board’ message on their ASI notifications to discourage attacks; now they are displaying ‘no business with Israel’, or ‘all Chinese crew’ messages,” she said.

Linerlytica analyst Tan Hua Joo observed that OVP Shipping and Safetrans had been actively buying ships in the past fortnight. He told The Loadstar: “Freight rates have rebounded in the last month and most of these operators are still using the Red Sea and Suez route, so they are able to fully capitalise on the rate rebound, especially to the Mediterranean region.

“Among the smaller carriers, only Sinokor has diverted to the Cape, while all the other niche carriers are maintaining their Red Sea routing,” he added.

While the BVI incorporation of Sea Legend’s holding company obscures its ownership, the operator’s fleet list shows vessels that are understood to be owned by Chinese firm Safetrans Shipping and Russian-controlled, Hong Kong-registered OVP, both of which launched Russia-focused services from late 2022.

According to Alphaliner, OVP ranks as number 52 in the top 100 container carriers, with a total fleet capacity of 20,500 teu across nine vessels, three of which are owned and remainder chartered; and Safetrans Shipping, also BVI-incorporated, is ranked at 61 with a fleet capacity of 15,100 across four vessels, two of which are owned.