China's biggest shipping firm appears to have sprung a leak.

On Monday, China Cosco Holdings 601919.SH +0.97% said it was selling its logistics business to its state-controlled parent. Cosco says that's to 'improve 2013 financial results.' The company reported a loss of 12.6 billion Hong Kong dollars ($1.6 billion) in 2011 and extended that into the first half of 2012. Three years of losses could result in suspension from trading in Shanghai.

The sale triggered a 5.3% fall in Cosco's share price on Tuesday in Hong Kong, where it is also listed. It's easy to see why investors are in a mutinous mood. With operating profit of $62 million in the first half of 2012, up 8% from a year earlier, logistics is one of the more attractive parts of Cosco's business. The company's container and dry-bulk shipping segments are both underwater.

Cosco isn't the only shipping company to run aground. Growth in global exports slowed to 3.1% in 2012 from a peak of 9.9% in 2004, according to the International Monetary Fund. At the same time, shipping firms continued to add extra capacity. Slowing demand and rising supply could have only one result. The Baltic Dry Index─which measures the price of sea freight─has fallen to 847 on Tuesday from a peak of above 11,700 in May 2008.

But Cosco still looks less shipshape than its peers. Its share price of 4.08 Hong Kong dollars Tuesday is 85% off its May 2008 peak. Pacific Basin Shipping Ltd. 2343.HK 0.00% and Precious Shipping PCL PSL.TH -1.18% also fell during the collapse in trade in 2009, but have regained more of the ground they lost. Charles de Trenck, an expert on China's shipping, says that reflects Cosco's slow response to the bulk and container shipping cycles, expanding capacity even as other shippers started to row back.

An infusion of capital will help avoid suspension in Shanghai, and it's possible Cosco will buy back its logistics arm when the waters have calmed. Meanwhile, the firm is waving goodbye to a growing business, while retaining its exposure to the oversupplied bulk and container-shipping markets. No wonder investors are manning the lifeboats.

中国最大的船运企业似乎漏水了。

中国远洋控股股份有限公司(China COSCO Holdings Co.，简称：中国远洋)周一说，正将物流业务出售给其国有控股的母公司，并称此举是为了提升2013年财务业绩。该公司2011年公布了高达126亿港元（合16亿美元）的亏损，2012年上半年也延续亏损势头。如果连续三年亏损，其股票可能被上海证交所暂停交易。

中国远洋同时还在香港上市，出售物流业务的消息导致其港股价格周二下跌5.3%。投资者出现不满情绪的原因显而易见。物流业务2012年上半年实现营业利润6,200万美元，同比增长8%，是中国远洋更具吸引力的一块业务。中国远洋的集装箱和干散货运输业务均处于亏损状态。

中国远洋不是唯一一家搁浅的船运公司。国际货币基金组织(IMF)的数据显示，全球出口增速从2004年9.9%的峰值降至2012年的3.1%。与此同时，船运公司还在继续增加额外运力。需求放缓和供应增加只能导致一个结果。波罗的海干散货航运指数(Baltic Dry Index)从2008年5月超过11,700点的峰值降至周二的847点。该指数衡量的是海运费率的走势。

但和同行相比，中国远洋的情况看上去更糟。其港股周二收盘价4.08港元，相比2008年5月的峰值下跌了85%。太平洋航运集团有限公司(Pacific Basin Shipping Ltd.)和Precious Shipping PCL在2009年贸易滑坡期间也曾出现下滑，但此后他们收回了更多失地。中国航运专家德特伦克(Charles de Trenck)说，这反映出中国远洋对散货和集装箱航运周期的反应较慢。在其它航运企业开始收缩的时候，中国远洋还在增加运力。

注资将有助于中国远洋避免被上交所停牌的命运。而且情况好转后，中国远洋有可能回购其物流业务。与此同时，该公司正在挥手告别一块正在成长的业务，而其对供过于求的散货和集装箱航运市场的风险敞口依然存在。难怪投资者都在忙着上救生艇。