MAERSK LINE to restructure, terminate 400 jobs

Danish oil and shipping group A P Moller-Maersk said it would slash about 400 jobs as part of a restructuring of its struggling container shipping division Maersk Line.

The group said in a statement that a key objective of the reorganization was faster decision-making and that about 250 of the job cuts would be at its Copenhagen headquarters, reported Reuters.

The shipping industry has been hit hard during the global economic downturn as weak demand and excess capacity knocked freight rates to loss-making levels.

Maersk said last month it expected 2012 results "slightly lower" than in 2011, a modest improvement on previous guidance, but below analysts' hopes.

Maersk Line reported a loss of US$599 million in the first quarter. In a stark illustration of the damage caused by excess tonnage in a poor rate environment, Maersk Line’s volume increased by 18 percent while the average freight rate declined by nine percent compared to the first quarter last year.

source: cargonewsasia[dot]com / picture: google[dot]com

Maersk posts a quarterly loss of US$599 million despite 18pc volume rise

DENMARK's AP Moller-Maersk Group has posted its first quarter results, which its container shipping unit Maersk Line suffered US$599 million year-on-year loss despite a 18 per cent growth in volumes.

The carrier said the average freight rate fell nine per cent compared to the same period last year.

Overall, the group delivered a profit of $1.2 billion, drawn on revenues of $14.32 billion, down one per cent year on year. Compared to the same quarter of 2011, it experienced almost zero growth in the first quarter. Excluding divestment gains and one-off tax income from the settlement of an Algerian tax dispute, the group recorded zero profit in the first three months, against a profit of $1.1 billion in the same period of 2011.

Group CEO Nils Andersen said the company is "not satisfied" with its first quarter performance, adding "earnings in shipping were weak due to the continued loss-making rates in the container and tanker markets. However, our efforts to increase container rates are paying off and we will continue our initiatives to improve rates throughout the year.

"We will also maintain a high level of costs for oil exploration and development of discoveries for production. We are confident that these investments will enable us to stop the decline in our oil production and then return to growth towards our target of 400,000 barrels per day."

Looking ahead, Maersk expects the group's year-end 2012 earnings will be slightly lower than the $3.4 billion recorded in 2011. Cash flow used for capital expenditure is expected to remain the same as in 2011.

For container shipping, Maersk Line said it "expects a negative up to neutral result in 2012, based on the assumption that the rate restoration that has taken place since March 2012 will continue."

The Maersk Line projects the global demand for seaborne containers will increase by four to six per cent in 2012, with lower increases on the Asia-Europe trades, but higher increases on the north-south trades.

picture: google.com

Maersk Line adds Le Havre, Hamburg, Zeebrugge to Daily Maersk from February

DANISH shipping giant Maersk Line has announced it will add port calls at Le Havre, Hamburg and Zeebrugge in February in its Daily Maersk service to enhance its "conveyor belt" concept on its main Asia-Europe route.

The service requires a 26-day transit from Shanghai to Zeebrugge and Le Havre and 28 days to Hamburg, reports Newark's Journal of Commerce, adding that Maersk has ended its vessel sharing agreement with CMA CGM after the newly announced CMA CGM-MSC alliance.

Said Maersk's vice president of Europe service Vincent Clerc: "The cancellation of the vessel sharing agreement ... offered us another opportunity to look at how we serve customers moving cargo between Asia and north Europe.

"We found that without CMA we could actually offer an enhanced service to more customers in more corridors and maintain our promise on the Daily Maersk corridors. So that is what we did."

CMA CGM chief financial officer Michel Sirat said the key aim of forming an alliance with MSC is to upgrade services so that the two carriers can compete with Maersk.

The 13,092-TEU Maersk Edison will be responsible for the last sailing in the vessel sharing agreement with CMA CGM, with a cut-off in Ningbo, China on February 16.

The world's largest carriers said it will offer a new Asia-Mediterranean service to replace the one partnering with CMA CGM now.

The report said shippers will benefit from shorter transit times and higher reliability. But they cannot receive cash compensation for late guaranteed deliveries available on the Daily Maersk service connecting four Asian ports with Bremerhaven, Rotterdam and Felixstowe.

Daily Maersk currently deploys 70 ships, offering daily Asia-Europe service seven days a week between Ningbo, Shanghai, Shenzhen-Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas and northern Europe.

source: shippinggazette / picture: google.com

MAERSK Signs MOU With INDONESIAN Port Operator

Chief executive officer of the AP Moller Maersk Group, Nils S Andersen, signed a memorandum of understanding with the top Indonesian port operator Pelindo II. The two companies are committed to infrastructure investments in Indonesia.

Addressing R J Lino, president director of Pelindo II at a meeting at the Maersk headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, Andersen expressed strong interest in further developing Maersk’s engagement in Indonesia.

“Indonesia is already an important market for Maersk, and we are interested in committing more of our resources to expand our operations in the country,” said Andersen. He expressed the Maersk Group’s desire to develop and expand the infrastructure of Indonesia in cooperation with Pelindo II, facilitating Indonesia’s growing foreign trade.

The memorandum of understanding outlines a plan for training and development of Pelindo II staff as well as providing consultancy support in lifting operational efficiencies in one of the Pelindo II facilities.

Focusing its efforts on new markets outside the OECD countries is part of the Maersk Group’s priorities for 2011, and Indonesia is a country of particular interest to Maersk. As a conglomerate, with container shipping, port activities, oil exploration, oil production activities as well as oil services, there are many opportunities to grow and provide top quality infrastructure and services in Indonesia.

The A.P. Moller - Maersk Group has been present in Indonesia since 1958, operating through shipping lines Maersk Line, Safmarine, MCC Transport and the company’s logistics arm, Damco.

In 2010, the A.P. Moller ‐ Maersk Group had a revenue of US$ 56.1 billion and a profit after tax of US$ 5.0 billion.

picture: google.com / source: logasiamag.com

MAERSK wins international MARITIME CENTRE AWARD in Singapore

AP MOLLER-MAERSK has received the International Maritime Centre (IMC) Award 2011 from the Maritime Port and Authority of Singapore in recognition of the group's "significant" contributions to the Lion City's development as a maritime centre and its impact on the Singapore economy, according to the group.

"We are convinced that Singapore will continue to be a powerhouse for growth in south east Asia and in the world. With its strong tradition for business dialogue and determination to stay competitive, we believe Singapore will also constantly adjust to the changing needs of shipping," said Nils Andersen, partner and group CEO, who was in town to deliver the Singapore Maritime Lecture and receive the accolade on behalf his company.

The IMC award was presented by the Minister of Transport Raymond Lim at a ceremony earlier this month.

"Singapore, as a global hub for global business, has become a natural second headquarter for AP Moller-Maersk. It is the only other place in the world, outside of Copenhagen, to house more than 10 of the group's business units. Singapore is also where the group has the most number of its ships flagged outside of Denmark," a company statement said.

It said that by the end of this year, Maersk will have about 107 vessels and rigs flagged in Singapore, adding up to over 5.5 million gross tons and making it the largest vessel owner in the city state.

source: shippingazette.com

MAERSK Line orders World's LARGEST and efficient Container SHIPS

Maersk the leading containership carrier has ordered 10 World's largest and efficient Container Ships ever, each of them has the capacity to carry 18,000 Tue (Twenty-Feet Containers), these gigantic containerships are classified as ' Triple-E '.

"Called the ‘Triple-E’ class for the three main purposes behind their creation — Economy of scale, Energy efficient and Environmentally improved — these new container vessels do not just set a new benchmark for size: they will surpass the current industry records for fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions per container moved held by the Emma Mærsk class vessels."

These containerships will be built in Korea by Daewoo Ship Building & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd and are set for the Delivery between 2013 and 2015. The Containerships will be deployed on Asia - Europe trade lanes. So far only Rotterdam, Felixstowe and Bremerhaven have ports deep enough to accommodate the containership of this size. Each of this Triple-E Class vessel will cost US $ 190 Million, which means the total amount of this order would be approx US $ 2 Billion, making it the single largest order ever placed in the Containership Industry.