THE Cosco Shipping Planet has become the latest 21,000 TEUer to join Cosco Shipping's fleet of mega ships built by Jiangnan Shipyard. The vessel, measuring 400 metres long and 58.6 metres wide, with a carrying capacity of 198,000 tonnes and a speed of 22 nautical miles per hour, joins sister ships built by the Jiangnan Shipyard which include Cosco Shipping Universe, Cosco Shipping Nebula, Cosco Shipping Galaxy, Cosco Shipping Sun and Cosco Shipping Star. The Cosco Shipping Planet is also equipped with a modern traffic control system and satellite communication capability, according to Xinhua News Agency. The world's third-largest container shipping line's fleet expansion has come after its half-yearly profits fell by almost 98 per cent compared with the same time in 2018, as reported by London's Port Technology in late August. This was despite its TEU volume increasing by 12.3 per cent and an 11.6 per cent in its terminal division. Some segments, such as the Bohai Rim Region, enjoyed a TEU spike of almost 75 per cent. The decline in its half-yearly profits was blamed on China's trade war with the US and the subsequent fall in the value of yuan against the US dollar.