EXCLUSIVE: After Triple Es – no more new ships for Maersk

With no new orders having been placed by Maersk since Q1 – 2011, the head of the world’s largest shipping company stated in an exclusive interview with CM that apart from the delivery of the ‘Triple E’ up to 2015, “I don’t see us placing any new orders anytime in the foreseeable future”.

His comments come after the recent announcement by Gianluigi Aponte, president of Mediterranean Shipping Company, that it had also halted further ship orders, again for the foreseeable future.

The move by both companies has been prompted by last year’s first-half 4% to 6% volume growth plunging to zero generally and to a negative figure on the Asia-Europe trade in the second-half.  Skou predicted that growth this year would only be around 1%.