CSCL grew its business rapidly under the leadership of shipping industry veteran, Captain Li Kelin.

The 10,000 TEU vessels were highly automated and classed by Lloyd's Register to the highest environmental safety standards.

[1] As a result of the merger, COSCON acquired the assets of CSCL and was renamed COSCO SHIPPING Lines.

[13] From 1997, COSCON was a member of the CKYHE alliance, a pooling agreement to share vessel space with "K" Line, Yang Ming, Hanjin, and Evergreen.

[14][15] On July 24, 2018, COSCO SHIPPING Lines reported a cyber attack to its operations in the United States, Canada, and South America.

[19] In 2018, COSCO SHIPPING Holdings acquired Hong Kong-based OOIL, the parent of OOCL, for US$6.3 billion.

[20][21] In 2021, COSCO became one of the first global shipping companies to utilize the blockchain-enabled efficiency improvement application Cargo Release.

[23] In September 2013, the container ship COSCO Asia was attacked by terrorists as it transited the Suez Canal.

Egyptian security forces quelled the attack and the ship sustained only minor damage.