Changjiang Shipping Group Phoenix, the listed arm of the largest shipping company along China's Yangtze River, will build six vessels to ship iron ore and coal.

Phoenix will invest nearly 1.7 billion yuan ($249 million) in six 45,000-tonne bulk carriers to ship iron ore and coal along the Yangtze river and the Chinese coast. The vessels are expected to be launched around March-December 2011. "The demand for iron ore and coal shipping is growing, as China imports more iron ore and coal from India and elsewhere, whereas China's domestic shipping capacity is lagging behind, so the potential is huge in these two markets," a Phoenix secretariat official told MB.

China imported 37.79 million tonnes of iron ore in June, 1.12 million tonnes lower than in May, but up 40.5% from last year. Import volume for the first half reached 230.04 million tonnes, up 22.5% year-on-year, according to the latest Customs figures. Phoenix has strategic alliances to ship iron ore for several domestic steel mills including Wuhan Iron & Steel, Maanshan Iron & Steel, Chongqing Iron & Steel, Shagang