In brief: Three US House committee chairs — John Moolenaar, Rick Crawford and Carlos Gimenez — asked DHS in an October 14 letter to remove Chinese state carrier COSCO’s ships from the Qualship 21 program, which exempts “quality” vessels from some routine port inspections. The move follows a September 1 Reuters report alleging hidden equipment on COSCO ships used to intercept military communications; the company and China’s embassy denied it. On October 15 the Coast Guard commandant ordered an immediate review of COSCO’s participation; at least 10 COSCO vessels were enrolled as of July 15.
Three US House committee chairs — John Moolenaar (Select Committee on China), Rick Crawford (Intelligence Committee) and Carlos Gimenez (Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security) — asked Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin in an October 14 letter to remove Chinese state carrier COSCO’s vessels from the Qualship 21 program. The program exempts vessels with a strong safety record from some routine port-state control inspections; the lawmakers want COSCO’s existing enrollments revoked, renewals refused, and scrutiny increased for other companies suspected of acting for China’s military.
The trigger was a September 1 Reuters investigation in which two senior Trump administration officials alleged COSCO ships carry concealed equipment to intercept military communications. COSCO called the equipment commercial, and China’s embassy in Washington rejected the claims. At least 10 COSCO vessels were enrolled in Qualship 21 as of July 15 (a Coast Guard table lists 11); the Pentagon had already designated COSCO a Chinese military company.
On October 15 the Coast Guard commandant ordered an immediate review of COSCO’s participation in the program. The lawmakers’ letter called espionage by state-owned commercial vessels “an expected breach of trust we regularly anticipate from the Chinese Communist Party.” As of publication, DHS had not announced any action — and Qualship 21 enrollment never exempted vessels from security inspections or enforcement.
Source: gCaptain, Oct 16, 2026.