Maersk places bulk order for boxships

A.P. Moller ? Maersk in Denmark has signed an agreement with Hyundai Heavy Industries for the delivery of 18 container vessels in 2011 and 2012. The vessels will each have a capacity of 4,500 TEU and are designed to meet the highest demands for safe and economic transportation of goods in diverse regions such as the Eastern Mediterranean, Africa, and Latin America.

In addition, each vessel is equipped with a waste heat recovery system which reuses excess heat from the exhaust and thus generates energy for propulsion of the vessel or on-board electricity consumption. The reduction in fuel consumption results in a corresponding reduction of emissions. It is the first time that an Asian yard will install a waste heat recovery system of this size and efficiency.

“We are very happy with this order. These vessels are part of our fleet renewal and development programme. They will enable us to continue to offer competitive container shipping based on a modern, economical, and environmentally friendly fleet,” says Senior Vice President Michel Deleuran, Head of Network & Product in Maersk Line.

In view of the flexible design of the vessels, Maersk Line will work on a variety of deployment scenarios. Currently, we expect to deploy the vessels in the trades to and from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Deleuran explains, “We have served the Sub-Saharan African market for more than 40 years, and we are dedicated to support the continued trade development in the region. We aim to continue to develop our services and support our customers? increasing business in the trades between Sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas, Europe, and Asia. These vessels will support us in that ambition and also show our long term commitment to Africa.”

Today, Maersk Line has a 25% market share in Sub-Saharan Africa and own offices in 35 countries in the region. Customers are offered fixed weekly services in most trades, the best schedule integrity in terms of port calls, coverage and timeliness, and transit times are among the best in the market. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the average export growth is currently 7% p.a. The average import growth is 11% p.a. Since 2002, export and import volumes have almost doubled. To support this development, the A.P. Moller ? Maersk Group is not only involved in container shipping (Maersk Line, Safmarine, and Ocean Africa Container Line), but also in other container related activities such as terminals, stevedoring, logistics, warehousing and rail transportation.