Qingdao-based Shandong Shipping Corp and Taiwan's Eddie Steamship are targeting capesizes and the iron-ore trades with new shipowning joint venture Shandong Shipping Asset Management Corp (SSAMC).

The tie-up has only recently been signed, but a source with knowledge of the situation said it has been under negotiation for over a year. SSAMC expects to secure mainland financial backing.

The effort comes in the wake of a similar venture last year between a local state-owned company on the mainland and another Taiwanese shipowner.