Iran, which could be used to make chemical weapons. COSCO claimed that the ship only contained "paper goods, hardware and machine parts". In 1997, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, United States senators from California, had asked the Clinton administration to investigate COSCO's leasing on a former naval base in Long Beach. The site was developed into a container port terminal, Pacific Container Terminal. However, continued controversy and opposition by Republican lawmakers caused cancellation of the lease, and the new cargo terminal, which was in fact built by the Long Beach Harbor Department (Port of Long Beach), was leased to Hanjin Shipping, a South Korean firm. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, most shipping companies halted all container shipping to Russia, except for basic food products, medicine and humanitarian aid. The exception is COSCO which continues to ship to Russia, and was the largest shipping company to do so. Incidents and accidents 2009 Norway oil spill On 31 July 2009, the Panama-flagged bulk carrier, Full City, operated by COSCO Group's HK division, experienced engine failure and ran aground near Langesund, Telemark, Norway, during a storm, spilling 200 tons of heavy bunker fuel oil in an ecologically and environmentally sensitive wildlife area. See also COSCO fleet lists List of oil spills Shipping industry of China List of container shipping companies by ship fleets and containers Chipolbrok Footnotes References general specific External links Transport companies established in 1961 Conglomerate companies of China Crane manufacturers Government-owned companies of China Shipping companies of China Port operating companies Chinese brands Xicheng District Multinational companies headquartered in China Companies based in Beijing Chinese companies established in 1961