Lawmakers Seek to Strip COSCO Ships of U.S. Port Inspection Privileges Over Espionage Claims

Three senior House Republicans are calling on the Department of Homeland Security to revoke special inspection privileges granted to vessels operated by Chinese state-owned shipping giant COSCO, citing allegations that...

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Three senior House Republicans are calling on the Department of Homeland Security to revoke special inspection privileges granted to vessels operated by Chinese state-owned shipping giant COSCO, citing allegations that the company’s ships have been used to collect intelligence near U.S.

In an October 14 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford and Rep.

Carlos Gimenez, chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, called for COSCO vessels to be removed from the U.S.

The program rewards foreign-flagged vessels with strong safety and compliance records by allowing them to undergo fewer routine port state control inspections at U.S.

According to the lawmakers, at least 10 COSCO vessels were enrolled in the program as of July 15, despite the company’s designation by the Pentagon as a Chinese military company.

An accompanying Coast Guard table identifies 11 vessels, including COSCO DEVELOPMENT , COSCO PRIDE and COSCO VIETNAM .

The letter, which has now prompted a Coast Guard review, follows a September 1 Reuters investigation in which two senior Trump administration officials alleged that COSCO uses concealed equipment aboard its commercial ships to intercept military communications near the coastlines of the United States and other countries.

The officials said the alleged intelligence-gathering operations were part of a decades-long relationship between COSCO and Beijing, allowing China to collect communications signals from ships and aircraft operating across Europe, North America and Asia.

COSCO denied the allegations in a September statement, saying its onboard equipment serves legitimate commercial purposes, including navigation, communications and emergency response, and is not used for intelligence gathering or military surveillance.

China’s embassy in Washington also rejected the allegations.

The lawmakers argue that the reported activities warrant a review of whether COSCO should continue receiving preferential treatment under the Coast Guard program.

“State-owned commercial vessels engaging in espionage is an expected breach of trust we regularly anticipate from the Chinese Communist Party,” the lawmakers wrote.

They called on DHS to revoke COSCO vessels’ enrollment, refuse renewals and increase scrutiny of other companies suspected of conducting activities on behalf of China’s People’s Liberation Army.

Beyond removing COSCO from Qualship 21, the lawmakers are seeking answers about what the Coast Guard knew about the alleged surveillance activities and when that information became available.