Tag: Maersk

'Many aspects' of trials on Maersk ship 'successful' Quadrise Fuels International says that "many aspects" of its sea trials of its a low cost alternative to heavy fuel oil, MSAR emulsion fuel, have been successful. The successes included general handling of the product and bunkering of the vessel, long term (over one year) storage of test fuel at ambient temperatures, and importantly confirming the emissions reduction potential of Marine MSAR.However Quadrise says that, during this first assessment, it was not possible to fully optimise engine performance, as the test configuration afforded limited scope for relevant "in service" adjustments. It adds that these recent results have provided the necessary data for future adjustment and assessments.The company noted: "This was the first time that commercial oil-in-water emulsion fuel has been trialled in 2-stroke marine diesel applications of this scale. As advised in previous reports, major innovative fuels development programmes require sufficient time for analysis of data, correction of any deficiencies and exploitation of opportunities revealed by the results of 'in service' performance.According to Quadrise, further marine engine and in-service tests are planned in the second half of the year with the support of Maersk, candidate refineries and major engine manufacturers. On completion, ...

Container shipping freight rates are profitable again Container shipping freight rates are profitable again and could rise further if trade picks up over the summer, the head of A.P. Moller-Maersk, the Danish shipping and oil group, said on Thursday.The recovery in rates could signal a brighter outlook for the global shipping industry, which has struggled to emerge from a four-year slump caused by oversupply of vessels and weak demand due to the sluggish world economy."At the moment, freight rates are at a level where container transport is earning money," Chief Executive Nils Smedegaard Andersen said in a presentation to the Danish Society of Financial Analysts."We are still working to get higher rates," Andersen said. "We hope there will be a pick-up in world trade after the summer."Last month, Andersen had said recent rate increases meant most container shipping lines were probably operating at breakeven levels.This contrasts with last year when rates plunged towards the middle of the year, which took A.P. Moller-Maersk's Maersk Line into the red for the year.Results this year for Maersk Line, the world's biggest container shipping group and a barometre of world trade, are expected to stay negative or "up to neutral," assuming that a rate ...

Tour to the North Sea to visit Maersk Resolute, a 350 foot jack-up drilling rig

CEO says usual seasonal pick-up has not been seen The container shipping arm of Danish oil and shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk said it has not seen the usual seasonal pick-up in bookings expected at this time of year, leading Maersk Line to postpone an Asia-Europe surcharge.Daily shipping paper Lloyd's List had said earlier on Friday that Maersk Line postponed a peak-season surcharge on key routes between Asia and Europe in response to a significant softening of market conditions."We adjust the prices all the time according to the market. With regard to the peak season surcharges, we adjust them once we see the start of a rise in bookings," Maersk Line Chief Executive Soren Skou told Reuters.The world's biggest container shipping company on Friday also said it would cut about 400 jobs as part of a restructuring.The peak season surcharges to be imposed in June normally cover the rise in volumes expected in the coming months as European retailers prepare for the Christmas season.Maersk Line has advised customers that the planned levy of $350 per 20-foot equivalent unit will take effect on June 15 instead of June 1, Lloyd's List said."We have during the last four months worked to raise freight ...

Today, Maersk Line announced that it will restructure its global HQ function (Centre). The new Centre organisation will be presented on 12 June and be initiated immediately thereafter. It is expected that a consequence of the new organisation is a reduction of the number of positions in Centre by approximately 400, hereof 250 in Copenhagen.The new Centre organisation follows the substantial changes Maersk Line has made to its global organisation (non-Centre) since 2008. This included de-layering, off-shoring of work to shared service centres, simplification of processes and empowering the frontline. The results have been good, but more can be done, and Maersk Line is now taking the next step making its Centre organisation more agile in order to strengthen Maersk Line's focus on customers and markets.A key objective of the new Centre organisation is faster decision making. Furthermore, execution and service tasks currently in Centre will be moved closer to the customers in Maersk Line's country offices in the global organisation as well as its shared service centres."We want to build a successful business that consistently delivers acceptable returns to its shareholders. This requires that we challenge ourselves to have as efficient an organisation as possible," says Søren Skou.The review ...

Featuring Tom Hanks as the captain A movie featuring Tom Hanks as the captain of a merchant ship who was taken hostage by Somali pirates will be filmed in Virginia.Gov. Bob McDonnell's office says parts of "Captain Phillips" will be shot in Virginia Beach. The movie focuses on Capt. Richard Phillips, who was at the helm of the Maersk Alabama when pirates boarded it in 2009.Phillips was held hostage for several days in a lifeboat before Navy SEAL snipers aboard the destroyer Bainbridge shot and killed three pirates and rescued Phillips.Film director Paul Greengrass says he's looking forward to shooting in the area because it is a vital base to the Navy and its accessibility to the Atlantic Ocean. McDonnell's office says "Captain Phillips" can receive a $300,000 state grant.Source: AP

Lawsuit against the owner and operator of Maersk Alabama More than half of the crew aboard the Maersk Alabama during a Somali pirate attack in April 2009 have filed lawsuits in Norfolk against the owner and operator of the ship, even as a new movie about the hijacking is in the works.The film, starring Tom Hanks and tentatively scheduled for release in March, will tell the story of Capt. Richard Phillips, who offered himself as a hostage to the pirates in exchange for the freedom of his crew and the container ship.The five-day saga off the coast of Somalia ended when Navy SEALs killed three of Phillips' captors in a volley of rifle fire.A fourth pirate had previously surrendered to the Navy.Though Phillips was hailed as a hero, 11 former crew members allege in lawsuits filed in Norfolk Circuit Court and in Mobile, Ala., that his employers, through Phillips' actions, put them in grave danger when the ship sailed within about 250 miles of the Somalian coast despite warnings to stay at least 600 miles out because of pirate activity.Together, the suits seek nearly $50 million in damages from Norfolk-based Maersk Line Ltd., the owner of the ship, and Alabama-based ...

Until very recently Iraq was seen as being too dangerous for Maersk Line to risk opening an office. Thankfully conditions are changing, and Maersk Line is determined to do its bit to both capture business for itself and facilitate growth in the local economy.Maersk Line in Iraq has a dedicated feeder, 80% reliability, fixed berthing, and unmatched (expandable) reefer capacity.Maersk Line aims to ride the economic growth in Iraq and promote our competitive products and services. Positioning itself in a high growth market, Maersk Line opened a branch office in Iraq in January 2012. This strengthened its sales presence in a region where the value of goods and services produced is expected to grow by 8.6% this year. Maersk Line is currently the fifth biggest player in Iraq, having doubled its market share this year to between 10% and 12%.A delicate environmentMaersk Line's new branch is in the port of Umm Qasr, in the Basrah region of Iraq. The port is central to trade in Iraq, with containers arriving from all over the world. Iraq is still not an easy place to do business, and there are still the inherent risks of working in a new and delicate democracy. Ayad ...

Maersk only customer to new Jade-Weser port The small town of Wilhelmshaven on Germany's North Sea coast, with a population of only 81,000, is already the country's largest naval base.With its new Jade-Weser-Port container hub, Wilhelmshaven became Germany's only deep water port and hopes to give Rotterdam and Antwerp a run for their money and become the main stopping point in Europe for supersize container ships arriving from Asia.Since the mid-1950s, Wilhelmshaven has become the largest German import terminal for crude oil, with pipelines supplying refineries in the Rhine-Ruhr region and Hamburg, and also a major handling location for goods such as petroleum products, coal and chemical products.Nevertheless, the Jade-Weser-Port Container Terminal will catapult the port into the world's premier league, with the capacity to handle the largest container ships - including the future triple-E class ships that have a carrying capacity of 18,000 TEU or "twenty-foot equivalent unit," which is the unit of measure in the sector.Wilhelmshaven's 18m deep port will allow these huge new giants to dock fully loaded independent of the tide at any time of night or day.At the moment, the site is a vast stretch of sand with a few diggers and excavators, a scattering ...

Interview with Jakob Buus Petersen at GST 2012 The Green Ship Technology Conference provided a platform for over 350 attendees to hear and debate the latest, most up-to-date, information on the maritime industry's initiatives for greener, more sustainable shipping.