Maersk Line Will Deploy Larger Vessels

The global
container shipping traffic is expected to grow by five to six percent while the
traffic between Asia and Europe is expected to
grow by eight percent.
    Maersk Line
had cut its capacity on Asia-Europe routes last month to counter rising fuel
costs. The price of bunker fuel used by container ships has jumped by 57 per
cent this year, adding to Maersk’s costs, while the US dollar, the currency
most widely used to pay for shipping services, has dropped 6.9 per cent against
the Danish krone.
    Maersk Line
has announced that it will deploy larger vessels on its routes between Europe
and West Africa. The larger ships will have a
capacity of 3,430 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) and each will operate routes
connecting the southern Spanish port
of Algeciras and the northern Moroccan
port of Tanger
with African ports such as Abidjan, Tema and Dakar.
    The
capacity of the ships previously used did not exceed 2,800 TEUs. The new
vessels are set to be the largest ever deployed on routes between Europe and West Africa.
    Maersk Line
recently ordered 16 ships from Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering for
delivery in 2010-2012.
    The ships
are destined for transportation of goods between the East Coast of South
America and Asia and Europe, the world’s
largest container shipping line said. The container ships have individual
capacities of 7,450 TEUs and can carry a record 1,700 refrigerated containers
each, Maersk said.
    The trade
between the East Coast of South America and Europe
is driven by the export of food products such as poultry, meat and fruit in
refrigerated containers and has grown an average 15 percent a year since 2002.