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Maersk Line

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For the parent company, seeMaersk.
Maersk Line
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryContainer shipping
Founded1928;96 years ago(1928)
HeadquartersCopenhagen,Denmark
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Vincent Clerc(CEO)
RevenueIncreaseUS$81.529 billion (2022)
OwnerMaersk
Number of employees
110,000+(As of 2022 end; worldwide)[1]
Websitemaersk

Maersk Lineis aDanishinternationalcontainer shippingcompany and the largest operating subsidiary ofMaersk,a Danish business conglomerate. Founded in 1928, it is theworld's second largest container shipping companyby both fleet size and cargo capacity, offering regular services to 374 ports in 116 countries.[2]In 2019, it employed 83,625 people where 18,398 of which are vessel crew and the other 65,227 are processing and operations personnel in offices and ports. Maersk Line operates over 708 vessels and has a total capacity of about 4.1 millionTEU.[3]

History

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See also:History of Maersk

At the beginning of the 1920s,A.P. Mollerconsidered possibilities of going into liner trade business. The tramp trade, where vessels sailed from port to port depending on the demand, was expected to lose ground to liners in time. On 12 July 1928, the vesselLeise MærskleftBaltimoreon its first voyage from the American East Coast via thePanama Canalto the Far East and back. The cargo consisted ofFordcar parts and other general cargo. This heralded the start of Maersk's shipping services. Maersk Line began to grow in 1946 after theSecond World Warby transporting goods between America and Europe before expanding services in 1950. On 26 April 1956, ocean-borne container transport was introduced with the shipment of aSeaLandcontainer aboard theSSIdeal XfromPort Newark, New Jersey,toHouston, Texas.In 1967, British carrierP&Owas part of the first European initiative, a pooling of liner services from four companies, into the new company Overseas Containers Limited (OCL). Both Sea-land and P&O would later be taken over by Maersk Line as it expanded operations between 1999 and 2005.[4]

In 1999, Maersk entered into an agreement on acquisition ofSafmarine Container Lines(SCL) and its related liner activities from South African Marine Corporation Limited (Safmarine). At the time of acquisition, Safmarine Container Lines operated approximately 50 liner vessels and a fleet of about 80,000 containers. It covered a total of ten trades and fully complemented Maersk Line's existing network. Safmarine Container Lines joined theA.P. Moller – Maersk Groupas an independent unit with its own liner activities.

On 10 December 1999, the A.P. Moller Group acquired the international container business ofSeaLandService Inc. The business was integrated with the A.P. Moller Group companies and as part of the integration, Maersk Line changed its name to Maersk Sealand. The acquisition comprised 70 vessels, almost 200,000 containers as well as terminals, offices and agencies around the world.

In May 2005 Maersk announced plans to purchaseP&O Nedlloyd[5]for 2.3 billioneuros.[6]At the time of the acquisition, P&O Nedlloyd had 6% of the global industry market share, and Maersk-Sealand had 12%. The combined company would be about 18% of world market share. Maersk completed the buyout of the company on 13 August 2005, Royal P&O Nedlloyd shares terminated trading on 5 September. In February 2006, the new combined entity adopted the name Maersk Line.

The Willemswerf building, the former Nedlloyd and P&O Nedlloyd corporate headquarters in Rotterdam. Currently the home of Maersk Line's European operations.

At the time the company was folded into A.P. Moller, it owned and chartered a fleet of over 160 vessels. Its container fleet, consisting of owned and leased vessels, had a capacity of 635,000twenty-foot equivalent units(TEU). Royal P&O Nedlloyd N.V. had 13,000 employees in 146 countries.

By the end of 2006, Maersk global market share had fallen from 18.2% to 16.8%, at the same time, the next two largest carriers increased their market share,MSCwent from 8.6% to 9.5% andCMA CGMfrom 5.6% to 6.5%.[7][8][9]In January 2008, Maersk Line announced drastic reorganisational measures.[10]

In November 2015, after lower than expected results, Maersk Line announced its decision to lay off 4000 employees by 2017. The group said it would cut its annual administration costs by $250 million over the next two years and would cancel 35 scheduled voyages in the fourth quarter of 2015 on top of four regularly scheduled sailings it canceled earlier in the year.[11]

As of October 2015, Maersk Line along with its subsidiaries such as Seago, MCC, Safmarine and SeaLand, control a combined 18% share of the total container shipping market.[12]

Since 1 December 2017,Hamburg Südhad been part of the company.[13]In 2023, it was announced that Hamburg Süd would be unified with the Maersk brand.[14]

In 2012, Maersk Line paid $31.9 million in fines to the U.S. following aDepartment of Justiceinvestigation contending that Maersk had "knowingly overcharged theDepartment of Defenseto transport thousands of containers from ports to inland delivery destinations inIraqandAfghanistan"while under government contract to transport cargo via container ships in support of U.S. troops.[15]

In September 2023, Maersk unveiled Laura Mærsk, the world's first vessel capable of sailing on green methanol. Laura Mærsk is a feeder vessel of 2,100 TEU capacity in service on the Baltic Sea.[16]In June of 2023, Maersk also announced an order for six additional mid-sized container vessels of 9,000 TEU capacity, bringing its total order book to 24 new vessels capable of sailing on green methanol.[17]

TheRed Sea crisishad a significant impact on shipping, from November 2023 onward; in May 2024, Maersk estimated the impact as a capacity loss of 15–20 percent across the merchant shipping industry, based on itsFYsecond quarter. Maersk also then announced that its ships were rerouting around theCape of Good Hopeto avoid further attacks.[18]

2M Alliance: Maersk/MSC

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In 2015, Maersk andMediterranean Shipping Company(MSC) launched the 2M Alliance, a vessel-sharing agreement on the Asia-Europe, trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic trades. The arrangement, which includes a series of slot exchanges and slot purchases on east–west routes, also involves Maersk Line and MSC taking over a number of charters and operations of vessels chartered toHMM.[19]The 2M Alliance include 185 vessels with an estimated capacity of 2.1 million TEU, deployed on 21 strings.[20][21]On 25 January 2023, CEO Vincent Clerc of A. P. Moller – Maersk and CEO Soren Toft of MSC announced in a joint press statement that the two shipping lines would terminate the 2M Alliance in January 2025.[22]

Gemini Cooperation: Maersk/Hapag-Lloyd

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In January 2024, Maersk A/S, an entity under A.P. Moller - Maersk (Maersk) and Hapag-Lloyd AG (Hapag-Lloyd) signed an agreement for a new long-term operational collaboration called” Gemini Cooperation”, to start in February 2025. The new cooperation will comprise a fleet pool of around 290 vessels with a combined capacity of 3.4 million containers (TEU); Maersk will deploy 60% and Hapag-Lloyd 40%.[23]

Sustainability

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In 2011–12, Maersk Line cooperated with theUS Navyon testing between 7 and 100%algae biofuelonMaersk Kalmar.[24][25]From 2007 to 2014, and mainly due toslow steaming,Maersk Line reduced itsCO2emissions by 40% or 11 million tonnes, about the same reduction as the rest ofDenmark.[26]

Maersk set a goal in December 2018 to be carbon neutral by 2050, in 2022 this ambition was accelerated by one decade to 2040[27].In 2023, Maersk became the first in the shipping industry to have its 2030 and 2040 targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in alignment with a 1.5°C and net zero pathway[28].These new targets include specific sub-targets for scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and will replace previous targets announced in early 2022.[29]

Services

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Maersk's main operations serve the Asia-Europe and Trans-Atlantic trades, and also between South America and Europe as well as to Africa. The company also introduced the concept of Daily Maersk in 2011, which provided a premium guaranteed service between supply ports of China and European base ports. Despite support from the trade, Maersk Line was forced to cut down services due to oversupply.[30][31]Recent restructuring of its products have included upgrades to their Asia to Australia, India to West Africa, and China to America routes.[32][33][34]

In addition to those main trade routes, Maersk Line also operates many continental trade lines. It operates in its Intra-Asia route through MCC Transport, its European route through Seago Lines, and recently re-launched theSeaLandService brand for its American trade lanes.[35]

Fleet

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As of July 2011, the Maersk Line fleet comprises more than 700 vessels (withHamburg SüdandSafmarinecombined) and a multitude of containers corresponding to more than 3.8 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit)[36]

In 2006, theE-classvesselEmma Maersk,was delivered to Maersk Line fromOdense Steel Shipyard.It was by far, the largest container ship in the world at the time.[37]

Seven other sister ships have since been built, and in 2011, Maersk ordered 20 even larger container ships fromDaewoo,theTriple E class,each with a capacity of 18,000 containers. The first of these Triple E Class ships was delivered on June 14, 2013, and was christened with the nameMærsk Mc-Kinney Møllerafterthe sonofthe founderof the Maersk Line.[38]

The following ship classes are part of the Maersk Line fleet:

Container ship classes of Maersk Line
Ship class Built Capacity (TEU) Ships in class Notes
A-class I 1974–1976 1,984 9
L-class II 1980–1983 3,016 7
L-class II 1983–1985 3,840 4
M-class I 1988–1991 4,300 12
K-class 1995–1997 6,418 6
Sovereign-class 1997–2000 8,160 11
C-class 1999–2002 8,650 8
A-class II 2002–2004 8,272 6
Gudrun-class 2004–2006 11,078 6
E-class 2006–2008 14,770 8
M-class II 2007–2009 11,008 6
Edinburgh-class 2010–2011 13,092 13 Long-term charter fromRickmers
Triple E-class Gen.1 2012–2015 18,270 20
Triple E-class Gen.2 2015–2019 20,568 11
H-class 2017–2019 15,226 11
V-class 2018–2019 3,600 7
2024–onwards 16,000 12 Will be built byHyundai Heavy Industries[39]
2024–onwards 17,000 6 Will be built byHyundai Heavy Industries[40]

Accidents and incidents

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Marit Maersk

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This 3,330-ton, 314-foot freighter was built in 1938 atFredrikstad, Norway.She was commissioned as a naval transport for theRoyal Hellenic Navythrough the Hellenic Maritime Commission in London on 27 November 1940. Used as a support ship for the armored cruiserGiorgios Averoffin 1942-44,Marit Maerskwas returned to her owners on 14 November 1945. In 1954 she was sold to Greek owners and renamedBelgium.[41]

Maersk Alabama

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On 8 April 2009, thecontainer shipMaersk Alabamawasseizedbypirates in the Indian Oceanat a distance of 240nautical miles(440 km; 280 mi) southeast ofEyl,Somalia.The siege ended after a rescue effort by theUnited States Navyon 12 April.[42]

Emma Maersk

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On 1 February 2013, the container shipEmma Maersksuffered a damagedsternthrusterand took on so much water in the Suez Canal that she became unmaneuverable.Tugs,anchors and the wind took her toPort Saidto offload 13,500 containers, drain her and be investigated by divers. She had not been in danger of sinking.[43][44]

On 15 February 2013, the Maersk Line confirmed that she was about to leave Port Said under tow to a yard for further assessment and repair. On 25 February she reached the yard ofPalermo,Sicily,where she was scheduled to stay for four months.[45]The flooded engine was disassembled, repaired and assembled, and in August 2013, she was in service again after a DKK 250 million (roughly US$44.5m) repair.[46]

Maersk Honam

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On 6 March 2018, a major fire broke out in the No.3 forward cargo hold ofMaersk Honamwhile the vessel was in theArabian Seaabout 900 nautical miles (1,700 km; 1,000 mi) southeast ofSalalah,Oman, en route from Singapore to Suez.[47]It took more than 3 days to get the fire under control[48]and the ship continued to burn for several more weeks.[49]The ship was salvaged and the damaged parts of the vessel were rebuilt. The ship was renamedMaersk Halifaxbefore entering into service again.[50][51]

Maersk Roubaix

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On 21 December 2021, the container shipMaersk Roubaixsuffered from engine issues and became adrift in theMediterranean370 kilometres fromMalta,while it was en route to theport of Algecirasin Spain. Atugboatwas dispatched to assist.[52]

Mumbai Maersk

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On 2 February 2022, the container shipMumbai Maerskran aground near thePort of BremerhaveninGermany.A first attempt to tow the container ship into deeper water using two multi-purpose vessels and five tugboats failed.[53]On 4 February, the ship was refloated with the help of eight tugboats. A vessel assessment was done when she arrived at thePort of Bremerhaven.[54]

Maersk Hangzhou

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On 31 December 2023, Houthis attackedMaersk Hangzhoufrom smaller ships, while traversing theRed Sea.Shots were fired at the vessel andboardingattempts were made while a private security team aboard defended thecontainer ship.The aircraft carrierUSSEisenhowerand its helicopters, along with destroyerUSSGravely,responded toMaersk Hangzhou's distress call. The U.S. ships, part ofOperation Prosperity Guardian,sunk three of the four Houthi militant ships, killing 10 aboard.[55]

Maersk Sentosa

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On the 9th of July 2024, the Houthis attacked the American flaggedMaersk Sentosain the Gulf of Aden.[56]

See also

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References

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Notes

[edit]
  1. ^Article title
  2. ^"PublicTop100".Alpha liner.axsmarine.Retrieved2023-11-30.
  3. ^"PublicTop100".Alpha liner.axsmarine.Retrieved2021-05-28.
  4. ^"A Ride On Maersk Line".NPR.org.Retrieved26 October2015.
  5. ^MacAlister, Terry (2005-05-10)."Maersk and Nedlloyd in bid talks".The Guardian.London.Retrieved2010-03-21.
  6. ^"Nedlloyd/Maersk News".Archived fromthe originalon 2008-03-10.Retrieved2008-01-09.Notes of the P&O Nedlloyd shareholder meeting 27 July 2005
  7. ^Urquhart, Donald."Maersk Line's market share declines in 2006"Archived2008-03-11 at theWayback Machine-The Business Times-Marshall Cavendish- 29 January 07
  8. ^"Liner Shipping Report"[permanent dead link]- AXS-Alphaliner - January 2007 - (Adobe Acrobat*.PDF document)
  9. ^Kennedy, Frank."Shipowners order new vessels worth record $105.5b in 2006"Archived2007-02-18 at theWayback Machine-Gulf News- 12/02/2007
  10. ^"Maersk Line chief defends restructuring: Business News - MSN Money".Archived fromthe originalon 2008-03-12.Retrieved2008-01-09.Interview with CEO December 2007
  11. ^"Maersk Line to Cut 4,000 Jobs as Market Deteriorates".Wall Street Journal.4 November 2015.Retrieved26 November2015.
  12. ^"A Ride On Maersk Line".21 May 2015.Retrieved26 October2015.
  13. ^"Maersk Line Celebrates $4 Billion Hamburg Süd Acquisition".Port Technology International.2017-12-05.Retrieved2021-04-23.
  14. ^"Maersk Plans Unified Identity Ending Hamburg Sud and Sealand Names".The Maritime Executive.Retrieved2 July2024.
  15. ^"Maersk Line to Pay Us $31.9 Million to Resolve False Claims Allegations for Inflated Shipping Costs to Military in Afghanistan and Iraq".United States Department of Justice.3 January 2012.Archivedfrom the original on 13 May 2021.Retrieved10 May2024.
  16. ^https://stateofgreen /en/news/the-worlds-first-green-methanol-container-vessel-has-reached-copenhagen/
  17. ^https:// maersk /news/articles/2023/06/26/maersk-orders-six-methanol-powered-vessels#:~:text=Copenhagen%2C%20Denmark%20%E2%80%93%20A.P.,delivered%20in%202026%20and%202027
  18. ^"Capacity loss of 15-20% on Far East to North Europe and Mediterranean market due to Red Sea crisis: Maersk".The Hindu.Retrieved10 May2024.
  19. ^"2M Alliance | JOC News".joc.Retrieved2021-04-27.
  20. ^"Maersk, MSC Establish Ten-Year VSA".Offshore Energy.2014-07-10.Retrieved2021-04-27.
  21. ^"2M Alliance Officially Launched".Offshore Energy.2015-01-12.Retrieved2021-04-27.
  22. ^"Maersk and MSC to discontinue 2M alliance in 2025".maersk.Retrieved2023-11-30.
  23. ^https:// hapag-lloyd /en/company/press/releases/2024/01/maersk-and-hapag-lloyd-are-entering-into-an-operational-cooperat.html
  24. ^"Maersk and the Navy Join Hands for Biofuels Testing | Oilgae Blog".oilgae.
  25. ^Geiver, Luke."Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-04-07.Retrieved2011-12-13.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)BioRefining Magazine,21 November 2011. Accessed: 13 December 2011.
  26. ^Nielsen, Jakob (6 April 2015)."Maersk vil sejle længere på literen"[Maersk goes further on the gallon].Politiken.Retrieved8 April2015.
  27. ^https:// csr.dk/ap-moller-maersk-accelerates-net-zero-emission-targets-2040-and-sets-milestone-2030-targets
  28. ^https://safety4sea /sbti-validates-maersks-emission-reduction-targets/
  29. ^https:// maersk /sustainability/our-esg-priorities/climate-change
  30. ^"Premium 'Daily Maersk' service abandoned".Retrieved19 January2016.
  31. ^"Maersk Line enhances Daily Maersk offerings".Archived fromthe originalon 26 January 2016.Retrieved26 October2015.
  32. ^"Mesawa From Maersk Line".16 December 2014.Retrieved26 October2015.
  33. ^"Maersk Line to launch first direct Thailand-Australia service".October 2015.Retrieved26 October2015.
  34. ^"MOL trumps Maersk for reliability: but does arriving on time matter any more?".20 August 2015.Retrieved26 October2015.
  35. ^"SeaLand: A famous name returns to the seas".Miami Herald.Retrieved26 October2015.
  36. ^"All ships".w maersk-tankers.[dead link]
  37. ^"Maersk Line".maerskline.Retrieved2009-07-20.
  38. ^"Maersk Line shipping containers worldwide".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-09-21.Retrieved2022-01-08.
  39. ^"Maersk confirms methanol-powered vessels order at Hyundai Heavy Industries".Container News.2022-01-10.Retrieved2022-04-14.
  40. ^"Maersk orders six 17,000 TEU methanol-fuelled vessels".Container News.2022-10-05.Retrieved2022-11-01.
  41. ^FileMarit Mersk[sic] at Hellasarmy.gr
  42. ^Sanders, Edmund; Barnes, Julian E. (2009-04-09)."U.S. ship captain held by Somali pirates".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved2021-05-03.
  43. ^"Accident report"(PDF).2016-01-12.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2016-01-12.Retrieved2021-05-03.
  44. ^"Emma Maersk ship faces leakage in Suez Canal".Egypt Independent.2013-02-02.Retrieved2021-05-03.
  45. ^"Emma Mærsk sejler igen".shippingwatch.dk(in Danish). 2013-08-01.Retrieved2021-05-03.
  46. ^"Her lander regningen for Emma Maersk".shippingwatch.dk(in Danish). 2013-08-13.Retrieved2021-05-03.
  47. ^"Serious fire on Maersk Line container vessel in the Arabian Sea".Maersk Line.7 March 2018. Archived fromthe originalon 2018-03-12.Retrieved2021-05-03.
  48. ^"Update: Maersk Honam Fire Localized".Offshore Energy.2018-03-09.Retrieved2021-05-03.
  49. ^"Maersk Honam Battling a Fire for Over a Month".Offshore Energy.2018-04-09.Retrieved2021-05-03.
  50. ^"Maersk Honam's Stern Loaded for Transport".The Maritime Executive.Retrieved2021-05-03.
  51. ^"Rebuilt Maersk Honam Returns to Service as Maersk Halifax".The Maritime Executive.Retrieved2021-05-03.
  52. ^"Maersk feeder disabled and adrift in the Mediterranean".Container News.2021-12-22.Retrieved2022-04-14.
  53. ^"Maersk's 20,000 TEU container vessel runs aground off German coast".Container News.2022-02-03.Retrieved2022-04-14.
  54. ^"Update: Mumbai Maersk refloated off Germany".Container News.2022-02-04.Retrieved2022-04-14.
  55. ^"US sinks 3 ships, kills 10 after Houthi Red Sea attack".Reuters.Retrieved10 May2024.
  56. ^ https://apnews /article/yemen-houthi-ship-attacks-israel-hamas-war-ab9198cd13a549ba7d9eedcf100ddc7a

Bibliography

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