AP Moller-Maersk has made its first foray into China’s ship management and manning arena with a new ship management joint venture which will recruit at least 900 seafarers from China in the next three years.

The company is the majority shareholder in the venture, and partners Shanghai Yuhai Shipping Company, an offshoot of the Shanghai Maritime University.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 2008 Shenzhen International Maritime Forum yesterday, Maersk Shipping Hong Kong managing director Henrik Uth told Lloyd’s List that the new company is mainly engaged in the recruitment and training of seafarers and will recruit at least 300 seafarers per year.

The company chose to base its subsidiary in Wuhan, in central China, to avoid the keen competition for human resources in the coastal area, said Capt Uth.

The firm decided to set up its own shipmanagement and manning company to overcome the risk of using a local agent.

He said that one of the major concerns for the Danish group is that foreign companies are not allowed to directly deploy seafarers in China. Instead, they must be handled by a Chinese agent.

Capt Uth explained that although the company has signed an agreement and built up a relationship with a local agent, there is still a risk the agent may deploy the seafarers on vessels operated by its competitors.

According to Capt Uth, foreign companies will only be allowed to deploy seafarers after operating in China for three years. Authorities also impose the condition that a foreign company must have recruited at least 300 seafarers a year over the three-year period.

Capt Uth said China has the potential to become the largest producer of first-class seafarers.

The company would like to recruit, manage and deploy its own seafarers from China so that it can treat them fairly and as if they are Maersk’s own staff.

Two weeks ago, the company saw its first batch of 28 Chinese cadets — including two female trainees — graduate from the six-week training programme.

He also pointed out that the shipping giant’s ambitions in China extend to operating Chinese-registered vessels.

“One of our ambitions is to have Chinese-flagged vessels in our fleet one day,” said Capt Uth.

Foreign owners cannot register their vessels in China and foreign-flagged vessels are banned from carrying domestic and export cargo between Chinese ports.

The company has made a formal request to the Chinese authorities, according to Capt Uth. But he expects it will take time for the government to consider changing the regulations.

If the present regulation is loosened, international box carriers will be able to carry cargo from river ports or smaller ports in China and tranship them at the country’s larger hub ports, such as Shanghai and Ningbo, saving them the trouble and costs of transhipping in South Korea or Hong Kong.

This may also open up the cabotage market, one of the major growth drivers of Chinese shipping companies in recent years, to foreign counterparts.

Meanwhile, other international lines, including French carrier CMA CGM, are also lobbying the Chinese government to allow them to carry export, but not cabotage, cargo between Chinese ports.