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Bloomberg

The world's biggest container line will order new ships for the first time in four years as the industry shakes off its worst crisis in four decades.
Nils Smedegaard Andersen, chief executive of AP Moeller-Maersk, said the Danish firm may focus on purchasing smaller vessels than it has bought in the past.
"The lower the oil price gets, the less benefit the larger ships offer," he said.
"We're not making long-term plans based on what the oil price is exactly today, but nevertheless we're currently looking into what effect the low oil price should have on our vessel size."
The decision marks a shift from the container shipping industry's focus on larger vessels.
Maersk Line has claimed at least four world records for the biggest ships over the past two decades. Its most recent mega-ship project was in 2011, when it ordered 20 Triple-E class vessels that each carry more than 18,000 containers.
Excess supply in 2009 triggered a slump in freight rates as volumes contracted in the wake of the global financial crisis.
Though there's still too much capacity in some parts of the industry, "the situation looks better now than it has for a while", Andersen said.
"We need to get new ships by 2017 if we want to keep up with the growth in the market, and we will place orders this year, probably already in the first half," he said.
Maersk Line needs its new ships to have a combined capacity of 425,000 standard-size containers in the period 2017 to 2019 to keep its market share, according to its earnings report published on Wednesday. That's equivalent to about 23 of the Triple-E ships on the market.
Maersk Line said its fourth-quarter net operating profit after tax more than doubled to US$655 million as higher shipping volumes and lower fuel costs more than countered a decline in freight rates.
The company now has a global market share of 15.7 per cent, according to data from Alphaliner.


Maersk chief gears up for ship orders after four-year break

Maersk Line has claimed at least four world records for the biggest ships over the past two decades. Photo: AFP

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The world's biggest container line will order new ships for the first time in four years as the industry shakes off its worst crisis in four decades.


Maersk chief gears up for ship orders after four-year break

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The world's biggest container line will order new ships for the first time in four years as the industry shakes off its worst crisis in four decades.

The world's biggest container line will order new ships for the first time in four years as the industry shakes off its worst crisis in four decades.