K Line delays deliveries

K Line president and chief executive Hiroyuki Maekawa said that the company had delayed close to 10% of the 155 ships it has on order. The delays are focused on the containership and car carrier segments which have been particularly hard hit the global economic crisis as consumer demand has plunged.

Maekawa said that the deliveries had been delayed for between six to 12 months.

Along with its partner lines in the container sector, Cosco, Hanjin Shipping and Yang Ming have been cutting and rationalising services in the main east-west trades. K Line was also laying-up vessels and accelerating the scrapping of older vessels.

“The supply and demand gap is enlarged and we as the shipping industry cannot create demand by ourselves, what we can do is adjust vessel supply,” he said. Maekawa said that the company had not cancelled any orders. At the end of last month K Line said it was also suspending investments in new vessel orders and returning high cost vessels that it had chartered in.