Shanghai Zhonggu Shipping is being linked as the buyer of 3,398teu containership Stadt Aachen for US$7.1m. Broking sources reported the sale some weeks back, but no buyer was identified at the time.

Zhonggu Shipping has previously stated it plans to acquire a handful of vessels in 2016, all of which will start operations between June and August. The Chinese outfit announced in the middle of March that it had acquired two container vessels, one each from Singapore and Germany. Additionally, last month the company signed a shipbuilding contract with Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard for the construction of a 2,500teu containership.

Zhonggu Shipping is one of the major domestic containership operators in China, controlling a fleet of more than 60 vessels.