China's state-owned shipping company is plans to launch cruise trips in the disputed waters of the South China Sea in a bid to develop tourism in the region.

The China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO), which owns the world's largest fleet of specialized carriers and multipurpose vessels, announced on Tuesday that the cruise services will be operational next month and its first travel route will be from Sanya city in the country's southern province of Hainan to the disputed Paracel Islands.

Like Us on Facebook

"It is practical to stimulate the local economy through development of tourism, logistics and infrastructure facilities," COSCO chairman Xu Lirong said at the Boao Forum for Entrepreneurs in Boao, Hainan over the weekend.

The shipping line teamed up with China National Travel Service (HK) Group Corp and China Communications Construction Co Ltd in April to set up a cruise travel company in an attempt to boost tourism in the South China Sea.

This isn't the first time a Chinese company has offered cruise servicers to the Paracels. Hainan Strait Shipping Co Ltd has also been running cruise trips between Sanya and the disputed Paracels for more than two years.

Beijing introduced cruise travel in the region as a trial run in 2013 and last year, approximately 16,000 tourists took a trip to the Xisha Islands, which is another name for the Paracel Islands.

China also started promoting tourism in and around Woody Island, which is the largest island in the Paracels.

Senior Hainan official Xiao Jie said in May that cruises are becoming increasingly popular among tourists, for which tickets are not easily available.

Beijing claims nearly all of the South China Sea as its own territory and has been wrangling with Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines, who have also voiced claims to parts of the maritime region.

Tagschina, South China Sea, South China Sea Dispute, COSCO, cruise, South China Sea cruise, Sanya, Paracel Islands, Xisha islands