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China - Shipping houseflags

Last modified: 2007-09-22 by phil nelson
Keywords: china | shipping | houseflag | china merchants group | china ocean shipping company | yangtze river transport company |
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See also:

China Merchant's Group

China Merchant Steam Navigation Company

[Merchant Ensign]
image by Mario Fabretto

The China Merchants Group still exists. Nowadays it has its headquarters in Hong Kong, and it has a website (www.cmhk.com). Its history page (available only in Chinese) lists the important events throughout the company's 130-year history. Here I will quote only a few relevant ones.

  • 1872 - Dec 26: China Merchant Steam Navigation Company established with the approval of the Imperial Government.
  • 1873 - July: CMSNC changed its flag from the 'twin fish-dragon flag' to the red flag with 'the yellow moon'.
  • 1884 - July 29: Sino-French War broke out. CMSNC 'sold' its fleet to an American sister company to allow the ships to sail under the neutral US Flag.
  • 1885 - May 17: The 'sold' ships reverted to flying the CMSNC Flag.
  • 1951 - Feb 1: CMSNC was 'communized' to become Chinese People's Shipping Company. [The website does not say this, but the house flag would thereafter be a white-red-white horizontal tricolour with a yellow star between yellow zig-zags (three layers of 'M's on each side) in the red.]
  • Feb 14: The Hong Kong branch petitioned the head office to retain the name CMSNC.
  • Mar 15: The head office approved the retaining of the name CMSNC in Hong Kong.
  • 1980 - Jan 8: The shipping branch of CMSNC was renamed Hong Kong Ming Wah Shipping Company.
  • 1985 - Nov 12: CMSNC renamed China Merchants Group.
  • 1988 - Mar 25: China Merchant Group bought over a dozen ships (combined full displacements 1.6 million tonnes) from the 'Tung's Shipping Group' (Oriental Overseas Container Line Ltd

In light of this information, I can say that while the yellow disc on red flag was, strictly speaking, the house flag of CMSNC, it was the de facto Chinese merchant ensign during the monarchy. Moreover, the list does not mention the variant flags with one or two dragons inside the disc - so my old assertion that these variants were fantasy flags still stands. In any case, The yellow moon flag is no longer flown nowadays... but at least they still remember it.
Miles Li, 7 December 2003


According to the COSCO website, 1949 saw the bulk of the China Merchants Steam Navigation Co. seized by Taiwan. Thereafter the fleet appeared in Lloyds as China Merchants Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. based in Taipei.

As Miles says it appears that the yellow moon flag is no longer flown.
Neale Rosanoski, 9 August 2007

See also:

  • China Merchants Steam Navigation Co. (Taiwan)
  • China Merchants Steam Navigation Co. (Hong Kong)

  • China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO)

    [China Ocean Shipping Company houseflag]
    image contributed by Neale Rosanoski, 9 August 2007

    The flag shown in Brown 1995 [lgr95] below is wrong in that the blue bands should be white. I fear the gremlins hit the Brown printing in this case and previous editions show it correctly. As is stated in the Brown notes, the livery above was used for most of vessels of the Government of the People's Republic of China with COSCO adopting its own flag, being the 2nd version shown by Jorge, in the early 1990s.

    [China Ocean Shipping Company houseflag]
    image by Jarig Bakker, 21 January 2006
    Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of Shipping Companies of the World [lgr95]

    Beijing - horizontal brightblue - red - brightblue flag; in center 5-pointed star between two rows of three waves, all yellow.
    Jarig Bakker, 21 January 2006

    [China Ocean Shipping Company houseflag]
    image by Jorge Candeias, 15 February 1999

    Overseas Subsidiaries

    COSCO (Hong Kong)

    [China Ocean Shipping Company, Hong Kong houseflag]
    image contributed by Neale Rosanoski, 9 August 2007

    COSCO (HK) Shipping Co. Ltd. differs by having a blue flag with the combined white letters " CHS" with a slight lean, being seen on their website.
    Neale Rosanoski, 9 August 2007

    COSCO (Singapore)

    [China Ocean Shipping Company, Singapore houseflag]
    image contributed by Neale Rosanoski, 9 August 2007

    I am told that COSCO (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. adds " SINGAPORE" in smaller white lettering to the group flag.
    Neale Rosanoski, 9 August 2007


    Shanghai Inland River Steamer Transport Co. Ltd

    [Shanghai Inland River Steamer Transport Co.]
    image by Eugene Ipavec, 3 September 2006

    Recently at Boone Scripophily was a 1939 Chinese share for ‘Shanghai Inland River Steamer Transport Co. Ltd’ in the ‘Navigation’ section.

    As noted:

    10 Shares. brown, yellow, black. No 52. Fine vignettes of two of the company's river-steamers on the river. Also the company's flag, also seen on the steamers. Text all in Chinese. Two punch-holes near edge.

    Jan Mertens, 2 September 2006


    Yangtze River Transport Co.

    [Yangsee River Transport]
    image by Eugene Ipavec, 23 March 2006

    One of the gems offered in Boone Scripophily’s recent auction was a share of the Yangtze River Transport Co.

    Comments: “50 Shares, 2500 yuan. blue, green, black, red. No 210. Issued during the period of Japanese occupation of Shanghai. Company flag. Text in Chinese.”

    Year of issue was 1943. The house flag is shown at the top of the document and is horizontally divided: the background being white, on the upper half are placed four red stripes whereas the lower half contains a red saltire touching the lower stripe.
    Jan Mertens, 20 March 2006


    The flag is a highly modified version of the Chinese ideogram 長 (Chá ng) from 長江 (Cháng Jiāng), the modern Chinese name of the Yangtze River. It was common for many flags in Japan and Japanese-controlled areas to adopt flags bearing highly modified ideograms. Examples include:

    Miles Li, 23 March 2006