3 House Republicans Urge DHS to Revoke COSCO Port Privileges Over 11 Qualship 21 Vessels
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Oct 15
3 House Republicans Urge DHS to Revoke COSCO Port Privileges Over 11 Qualship 21 Vessels
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 15
Summary
An Oct. 14 letter from three senior House Republicans asks DHS to strip COSCO ships of Qualship 21 status, refuse renewals and tighten scrutiny of other Chinese-linked carriers.
The push follows September allegations that COSCO vessels used concealed equipment off U.S. coasts to intercept military communications and collect intelligence on encryption technologies; COSCO denies the claims.
As of July 15, 11 COSCO vessels were still enrolled in the Coast Guard program, which grants fewer routine inspections at U.S. ports despite the Pentagon listing COSCO as a Chinese military company in January 2025.
Lawmakers are asking whether the Coast Guard had prior intelligence warnings, rechecked COSCO's eligibility after the Pentagon designation and has authority to board ships, investigate crews and trace suspicious routes.
The inquiry also widens beyond COSCO, raising whether Hong Kong should lose qualified flag status and whether Pentagon national-security designations should count in future port-privilege decisions.