Online retail company Amazon has registered its Chinese subsidiary to operate as an ocean freight forwarder to the United States.

This move will give the company more control over shipping products from Chinese factories to American shoppers, according to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC).

Although Amazon will not be operating ships and will instead subcontract its work, it still gives the retailer a stake in the $350 billion a year ocean freight business, reports Reuters.

The news comes after Amazon negotiated a deal to begin its own air-delivery service last year.

Satish Jindel, a logistics consultant and president of SJ Consulting Group, said that Amazon "has more and more control over the supply chain of their business and it gives them the ability to squeeze (costs) even further".

Flexport originally obtained the information that Amazon China had registered to operate as an ocean freight forwarder and that the FMC now has the company listed as a licensed Ocean Transportation Intermediary.

With this move, Amazon China can provide freight forwarding services to Chinese companies looking to move products into FBA warehouses.

However, despite the official licensing of Amazon China as an ocean forwarder, in reality this is only the first step of a long process and it may be several years before the company begins serving as a freight forwarder.