AXS-Alphaliner Newsl..

ALPHALINER 

Weekly Newsletter 

Web: www.axs-alphaliner.com | E-mail: data@alphaliner.com | Sales: commercial@axsmarine.com 

13.04.2009 to 20.04.2009 

Volume 2009 Issue 16 

Alphaliner Weekly Newsletter is the premier liner shipping news summary, compiled and distributed every Monday. 

The newsletter is available upon subscription. Information is given in good faith but without guarantee. Please send 

your feedback, comments and questions to data@alphaliner.com 

Market Share Evolution 

Top 3 Carriers 

2000-2009 

Maersk 

MSC 

CMA CGM 

Maersk % 

MSC % 

CMA CGM % 

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E 

1 Chart of the Week 

The rise and rise of MSC 

3 42 ships over 6,000 teu idle 

4 Service Updates 

Grand Alliance drops Amsterdam 

KL and TSK team up in Asia 

Asia-Australia loop merged 

MSC launch WCSA services 

MCC develops in Eastern Russia 

CMA CGM & Maersk on Asia-Med 

MACS streamlines Eur-SA service 

Temas boosts Indonesian presence 

8 Corporate Updates 

CSAV to raise $750M 

NOL 1Q loss may soar to -$240M 

OOCL 1Q revenue tumbles 31% 

Hamburg Sud reports higher revenue 

Textainer increases it container fleet 

13 Delivery Updates 

New April deliveries 

14 Terminal Updates 

Hamburg receives its largest boxship 

Eurogate unveils strong 2008 results 

COSCO Pacific reports 2008 results 

SIPG defers Zeebrugge investment 

Busan to acquire 3 New Port berths 

TEU Millions 

Chart of the Week 

2.50 

2.00 

1.50 

1.00 

0.50 

0.00 

Top 3 Carriers Evolution 

© Alphaliner 

Maersk acquires 

P&O Nedlloyd 

The rise and rise of MSC 

P a g e | 1 © Copyright Alphaliner 1999-2009 

20% 

18% 

16% 

14% 

12% 

10% 

While the entire industry is grappling with an overcapacity challenge, one 

carrier has defied the trend and has been adding capacity at a time when 

most other lines are trying to dispose of excess tonnage. 

MSC has been the odd carrier out during the last 15 months, adding to both 

its total operated capacity and its working fleet. The line’s market share, 

based on the actual working fleet after exclusion of the idled capacity, has 

risen from 10.4% at the start of 2008 to 11.5% as at 1 April 2009. The 

working fleets of its two closest competitors have dropped during the same 

period:- 

- A.P Moller-Maersk’s share has reduced from 16.1% to 14.1% 

- CMA CGM’s share has reduced from 7.6% to 7.1% 

The Swiss-based MSC has narrowed the gap between itself and Maersk to 

only 2.6% in market share terms, or 340,000 teu in capacity terms. This is 

the narrowest gap between the current no.1 and no.2 carriers in history. In 

8% 

6% 

4% 

2% 

0% 

Market Share

ALPHALINER Weekly Newsletter 2009-Week 16 

axs-alphaliner.com – the worldwide reference in liner shipping 

Top 3 Carriers 

Volume Growth 

MSC operating costs 

lower than its 

competitors? 

Carrier CAGR 2005-2008 

Maersk 1.9% 

MSC 17.3% 

CMA CGM 23.8% 

MSC Newbuilding 

Delivery Schedule 

2009-2011 

Delivery TEU Shipyard 

Feb-09 11,660 Hyundai 

Mar-09 13,798 Samsung 

Mar-09 14,000 Daewoo 

May-09 14,000 Daewoo 

May-09 13,798 Samsung 

May-09 4,254 Zhejiang 

Jun-09 13,798 Samsung 

Jun-09 4,254 Zhejiang 

Jul-09 4,254 Zhejiang 

Aug-09 13,798 Samsung 

Oct-09 13,798 Samsung 

Dec-09 13,798 Samsung 

Jan-10 14,000 Daewoo 

Jan-10 13,798 Samsung 

Feb-10 14,000 Daewoo 

Mar-10 14,000 Daewoo 

May-10 14,000 Daewoo 

Jul-10 14,000 Daewoo 

Nov-10 14,000 Daewoo 

Feb-11 14,000 Daewoo 

TEU Millions 

14.00 

12.00 

10.00 

8.00 

6.00 

4.00 

2.00 

0.00 

Top 3 Carriers - Liftings 2005-2008 

2008 TEU 2007 TEU 2006 TEU 2005 TEU 

Maersk Line 

2008, MSC liftings increased by 5% to reach 10.5 Mteu, closing in on 

Maersk’s 13.8 Mteu. 

Most other carriers are actively laying up idle capacity. Notably, carriers 

such as APL have 21 ships of 3,300-6,400 teu idled, representing 22% of its 

operated capacity at today’s count. In the case of these lines the cost of 

keeping ships inactive is apparently lower than operating them on 

unprofitable routes at the moment. 

MSC on the other hand has only 2 ships currently believed in idle status. 

The line has in fact been adding capacity by chartering ships at bargain 

rates. While most carriers ceased to charter ships and to the contrary 

redeliver excess tonnage, MSC is on its side breathing life into the charter 

market for large ships. During the past six months, it has chartered a dozen 

ships of the 2,500-6,000 teu range for periods of 12 to 24 months, plus ten 

other ships for shorter periods. Recent fixtures include the 24-monthscharter 

of ER FRANCE (5,762 teu) at a reported $8,000/day, SANTA CELINA 

(3,430 teu) at $7,250/day for 12 months and CALA PANCALDO and CALA 

PIGAFETTA (2,785 teu) at $6,000/day for 12 months. 

MSC’s fleet has also been boosted by the addition of three ULCS of 14,000 

teu (MSC DANIELA and DANIT classes) and four VLCS of 11,660 teu (MSC 

SOLA class), all assigned to its Far East-Europe 'Silk' service. The carrier 

seems unaffected by the downturn and is for the moment receiving its 

large newbuildings on schedule. MSC’s orderbook includes a further 41 

units over 12,500 teu. 

Below this size, the carrier’s orderbook is surprisingly low, with six units of 

5,550 teu and three ones of 4,250 teu. This explains why MSC has been 

active in chartering ships of this size during the past 12 months, including a 

series of five 5,500-5,700 teu ships taken en bloc from Hyundai M.M. last 

summer for delivery in January-April 2009. 

In the meantime, MSC has been active in the scrap market, sending two 

dozen (15 owned, 9 chartered) of its aging ships to the breakers, removing 

43,000 teu from its fleet since September. All of these ships have been 


MSC 

CMA CGM

Note : 



To avoid any misinterpretation, Alphaliner 

uses the word ‘IDLE’ instead of ‘LAID UP’. 

Idle ships include: 

- Carrier-controlled ships left without 

service assignment 

- Chartered ships redelivered to owners 

with no further employment 

- Ships in long term lay-up 

- Ships damaged or under long time repairs 

following damage (or under conversion) 

- Ships arrested for financial/legal reasons 

Following categories are NOT included as 

idle: 

- Ships awaiting their sailing slot as they 

change service (if waiting period is less 

than a week) 

- Ships in routine GR/dry-dock 

- Ships waiting to a berth at the roads / 

anchorages due to strike, missed slot or 

port congestion 

Idle ships by operators 

> 6,000 teu 

Operator No of Idle ships 

Maersk Line 14 

APL 8 

CSAV 5 

CSCL 3 

OOCL 2 

MISC Bhd 2 

IRISL 2* 

MOL 1 

MSC 1 

Evergreen 1 

HMM 1 

COSCO 1 

UASC 1 

* Note: IRISL ships are lying at yard 

and have not been handed over 

to owner 

more than 28 years old, including the 40 years old MSC STEFANIA and six 

other ships built in 1970. MSC still has 42 ships (22 owned and 20 

chartered) built before 1980 currently in its fleet, totalling 64,000 teu. 

42 ships of over 6,000 teu idle 

1. Tracking idle container ships is a challenge as most owners and operators 

do not disclose the ships they put at anchor. Alphaliner has implemented 

procedures that allow the identification of idle vessels with a high degree 

of reliability. Other methods such as those relying only on tracking inactive 

ships using AIS (Automatic Identification System) data or other automated 

reporting are prone to error. 

2. Furthermore, these automated methods of tracking idle ships suffer from 

several disadvantages, notably the inability to track ships that are outside 

of the coverage range. Such methods also incorrectly treat empty ships 

which are moving from one anchorage to another as ‘active’ while actually 

they are not actively working and thus continue to be considered ‘idle’ by 

Alphaliner. Conversely, certain ships in routine dry-dock are erroneously 

considered as idle while they should not be, as dry-docking is a routine 

part of ship operations. 

3. The AIS-based or other automated analysis are also based on a certain 

number of inactive days before declaring ships as inactive, thereby missing 

out early data as it takes between 7 to 21 days before these inactive ships 

are actually classified as idle. Observation also shows that these methods 

have erroneously classified as idle some ships routed via the Cape of Good 

Hope, as AIS often fails to capture ships in such remote waters. 

Alphaliner’s tracking method provides a more comprehensive and up-todate 

snapshot of the idle fleet with a satisfying degree of reliability. Ships 

are classified as inactive as soon as they leave an active assignment. This 

data is updated on a daily basis, thereby providing a reliable and up-todate 

account of the current inactive fleet. 

As at 20 April, a total of 42 ships of more than 6,000 teu capacity tracked 

by Alphaliner are now classed as idle. Maersk Line currently has the largest 

number of large ships idle with 14 such ships followed by APL which has 8 

ships of above 6,000 teu that are inactive. 

Detailed idle containership statistics are available exclusively from 

Alphaliner. They include vessel and operator particulars. The report 

provides a unique insight into the current operating environment for both 

owners and operators. For subscription details, please contact us at 

commercial@axsmarine.com 

P a g e | 3 © Copyright Alphaliner 1999-2009



SERVICE UPDATES 

Amsterdam left with sole 

mainline service 

following departure of 

EU 2 

Current crisis prompts 

further service 

consolidation in 

Intra-Asia 

Grand Alliance drops Amsterdam on EU 2 

The Grand Alliance (Hapag-Lloyd + NYK + OOCL + MISC Bhd) is to alter the 

European range rotation of its Asia-Europe Loop 2 (EU 2) service. 

The main change concerns the inclusion of Rotterdam at the expense of 

Amsterdam. The EU2 used to call at the Ceres Terminal in Amsterdam, 

which used to be controlled by alliance member NYK. Since December 

2008, the terminal has been under the control of Hutchison Port Holdings 

(HPH) which obtained a majority stake in a share-swap agreement with 

NYK. Under the terms of the agreement, NYK was granted by HPH a 

minority stake in Rotterdam’s Europe Container Terminals (ECT). 

With the EU 2 dropping Amsterdam, the Ceres Terminal is now left with 

only a single deep sea loop calling, the Grand Alliance’s Asia-Europe Loop 

1 (EU 1). 

On its side, Rotterdam is reported to consider a reduction in port dues in 

order to attract additional traffic. The port of Rotterdam had earlier 

reported a 16% decline in container volumes to 2.3M TEU for the first 

quarter of 2009. The port forecasts a decline in throughput of 6%-10% for 

2009. It says problems in container shipping continue to dominate the 

situaltion and that recovery will begin “a little later than anticipated”. 

K Line and TSK team up on intra Asia services 

K Line and TSK (Tokyo Senpaku Kaisha - the intra-Asia arm of NYK) have 

reached an agreement to launch a joint service between Japan, the 

Philippines and the Straits / Jakarta sector from mid-May 2009. 

In response to the ongoing financial crisis that has drastically reduced 

cargo volume for this sector, the two carriers will merge two existing, 

independent services, the TSK's 'Pegasus' service (PGS) and the K Line's 

'Pineapple Express' into one service, unifying fleet deployment to their 

maximum size, thereby improving efficiency and schedule integrity. 

Four vessels of about 1,700 teu will be deployed on a 28-day round voyage 

to provide a weekly service (two provided by K Line and two by TSK). It 

will cover Osaka, Shimizu, Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kobe, Keelung, 

Manila, Singapore, Port Kelang, Jakarta, Singapore, Manila, Osaka. 

In addition to this newly-established joint service, both carriers also agree 

to widen their cooperation by exchanging slots with each other on their 

existing services, to maximize efficiency and provide a wider range of 

services to their customers. 




Consolidation also in 

Asia-Australian trades 

2 new services in WCSA 

launched 

upgraded Western and 

Central Med coverage 

Asia-Australia loops merged temporarily 

Two Asia-Australia loops connecting Japan and China to Melbourne, Sydney 

and Brisbane are to be temporarily merged into a single loop. The services 

concerned are the ANL / CSCL / OOCL North Asia-China-Australia (NACA) 

loop and the NYK / MOL / K Line Asia-SE Australia (AUS 2) service. 

The two services are merged into a temporary joint service, run with six 

ships of around 4,000 teu (instead of a total of ten ships for the two 

original loops). A seventh carrier, COSCO, is also involved through a slot 

allocation on the NYK-MOL-K Line loop. 

ANL, market leader on this run, explains that the decision is motivated by 

''the continued downward trend of world trade in the current economic 

conditions caused by the financial crisis and the continued depressed 

freight rate levels''. The original pattern is to be re-instated when the 

market recovers. 

MSC launches American Pacific coast services 

MSC has announced the introduction of two new services linking the US 

West Coast, Mexico and Central America to the West Coast of South 

America. 

The 'Puma' service will link ports in USA, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, 

Costa Rica and Panama, offering a weekly service between Balboa, Long 

Beach, Oakland, Manzanillo, and Puerto Caldera. In addition, fortnightly 

calls will also be offered at Salina Cruz, Mazatlan, Puerto Quetzal and 

Acajutla. The first sailing will occur from Balboa on 29 April with the MSC 

PERU to be followed by two other ships of between 1,600-2,100 teu. 

The 'Condor' service will link ports in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Panama 

by offering a weekly service between Balboa, Callao, Paita, Guayaquil, and 

Buenaventura. Three ships of about 1,200 teu will be deployed with the 

first sailing to start from Balboa on 17 April with the MSC PAOLA. 

The two new services will hub at Balboa, located at the Pacific side of the 

Panama Canal - this port has not been used by MSC so far. 

CMA CGM and Maersk team up on Asia-Med 

CMA CGM today announced the following improvements on its Asia- 

Mediterranean services, starting from mid-May : 

CMA CGM will offer an upgraded coverage of Western and Central 

Mediterranean from Asia, including direct calls at Lianyungang and 

Qingdao, within a new Vessel Sharing Agreement with Maersk on a service 

based on the current Maersk's AE-11 loop. It will rotate as follows : 

Lianyungang, Qingdao, Shanghai, Fuzhou, Hong Kong, Chiwan, Yantian, 




Tanjung Pelepas, Jeddah, Port Said, Gioia Tauro, Genoa, Fos, Gioia Tauro, 

Damietta, Port Said, Salalah, Port Kelang, Singapore, Lianyungang. The 

service will be operated with nine vessels of about 8,500 teu, eight of 

which provided by Maersk and one by CMA CGM (The newbuilding CMA CGM 

CENDRILLON). 

CMA CGM will revamp its Asia-Adriatic PHEX/LEVEX within a new 

partnership with Maersk Line through a Vessel Sharing Agreement, with 

each company providing four vessels of 6,500 teu. The new service ''will 

offer faster transit times to Trieste, Koper and Rijeka''. It will rotate as 

follows : Shanghai, Busan, Hong Kong, Chiwan, Tanjung Pelepas, Port 

Kelang, Port Said, Damietta, Trieste, Koper, Rijeka (by feeder), Damietta, 

Port Said, Jeddah, Port Kelang, Singapore, Shanghai 

MCC develops own Eastern Russia feeder 

MCC Transport, the APM-Maersk intra Asia arm, has launched its own 

Busan-Eastern Russia feeder services, covering Vladivostok and Vostochny, 

using the chartered 698 teu OSG BEAUTEC and OSG BOSSTEC (the latter 

sub-chartered from Chinese carrier Onto Shipping). 

On this run, MCC Transport / Maersk used to either buy slots or to deploy 

ships on an ad hoc basis from time to time. The two new services connect 

at Busan with long haul services of Maersk and MCC. Maersk-MCC is also 

offering direct Shanghai-Russia services through slot buying on the FESCO. 

In December 2004, APM-Maersk had acquired SCF Oriental Lines from 

Sovcomflot Logistics, a carrier which offered Korea-Russia services using 

the Vostochny gateway for oncarriage of boxes on the Trans-Siberian 

Railway. 

As for Onto Shipping, it is to replace the OSG BOSSTEC by the 672 teu JIN 

MAN YANG on its Lianyungang-Qingdao-Japan service. 

MACS streamline Europe – S Africa service 

MACS Maritime Carrier has removed two ships from its Europe-South Africa 

multipurpose and breakbulk service. The two ships are the 26,000 tdw/850 

teu conbulkers STELLENBOSCH and ALGOA BAY. The service is now run with 

five multipurpose units, two of which are fitted with ramps. 

STELLENBOSCH and ALGOA BAY, both 31 years old, are actually sent on the 

Southern Africa-Mexico-USA 'Gulf Africa Line' (GAL - a joint service of MACS 

and Dannebrog) on which they replace two 38-year-old conbulkers of 

30,000 tdw / 1,100 teu, earmarked for scrap: the BLUE MASTER and 

SILVERFJORD. 

These two pairs of ships are veterans of the South Africa trade, carrying 

containers and machinery as well as granite blocks exported from South 

Africa. MACS is awaiting a series of 37,000 tdw / 2,000 teu newbuildings 




ordered in China. The first of them is planned for delivery at the end of the 

year. 

Temas boosts Indonesian presence 

Indonesian carrier PT Pelayaran Tempuran Emas (Temas Line) is enhancing 

its fleet with both newbuildings from China and second hand purchases. It 

has recently received the 537 teu ESTUARI MAS from the Ningbo Boda 

Shipyard and two 296 teu units, the LAGUN MAS and GUHI MAS, from the 

Yuenshan Shipyard. It has also purchased two second hand ships : the 1,002 

teu KAWA MAS (built 1985 - ex X-PRESS MANASLU purchased from 

Singapore-based owners linked to Sea Consortium) and the brand new 538 

teu LAGOA MAS, purchased from a Chinese owner which took her in charge 

only a few weeks ago. 

Last year, Temas also added the SUNGAI MAS (500 teu - built 1980 - ex 

X-PRESS PUMORI). With these newcomers, Temas Line operates today a 

fleet of 32 ships representing 15,760 teu, all owned, deployed on three 

sets of routes out of Jakarta and out of Surabaya, covering a dozen of 

Indonesian ports. 




CORPORATE UPDATES 

CSAV Top 10 

Shareholders as at end 

Dec 2008 

Shareholder Name % Share 

MARITIMA DE INVERSIONES 

(CLARO FAMILY) 

45.59% 

BANCHILE BROKERS 3.34% 

PHILTRA LIMITADA 3.15% 

AFP CUPRUM PENSION FUND 2.86% 

CHILE ELECTRONIC STOCK EXC 2.79% 

AFP HABITAT PENSION FUND 2.70% 

LARRAIN VIAL BROKERS 2.47% 

AFP CAPITAL PENSION FUND 2.34% 

BANCO DE CHILE FOR 

CHAP XIV 3 rd PARTIES 

1.96% 

HENDAYA CONSULTING 1.94% 

Total TOP 10 69.14% 

CSAV Newbuilding 


2009-2012 

Dely Teu Shipyard 

Aug-09 6,589 CSBC* 

Sep-09 6,589 CSBC 

Nov-09 6,589 CSBC* 

Jan-10 6,589 CSBC 

Mar-10 6,589 CSBC* 

May-10 6,589 CSBC 

Jul-10 12,552 Samsung* 


Jan-11 12,552 Samsung* 

Apr-11 12,552 Samsung 

Jun-11 12,552 Samsung* 


Jan-12 12,552 Samsung* 

Mar-12 12,552 Samsung 

_______________________________ 

* LT Charter from Peter Dohle 

CSAV also have additional charter 

arrangements with Seaspan and 

Hermann Buss 

CSAV to raise $750M of new equity 

CSAV is planning to raise up to $750M of new equity as it faces a 

challenging year ahead that could see it lose up to $300M in 2009. 

The company plans to raise $350M from current shareholders, with a first 

exercise expected to raise $130M in rights issue scheduled to be completed 

in the first half of the year. The company now plans to raise a further 

$220M from its shareholders in a second rights issue. 

A further $400M could come from the capitalisation of outstanding charter 

party commitments on ships that CSAV currently have on charter, which 

will give the shipowners a direct equity stake in the company in lieu of 

charter payments. 

CSAV’s commitments on newbuildings include four 12,500 teu vessels at 

Samsung and three 6,500 teu vessels at CSBC with a total value of $890M. 

These ships were acquired from German owner Peter Dohle who has the 

largest exposure to CSAV. Dohle has 13 ships currently on long term charter 

to CSAV and a further 7 newbuildings scheduled for delivery between 2009 

and 2012 for Chilean carrier. Dohle is believed to be taking the lead 

amongst the group of owners in negotiating the capitalisation of charter 

contracts. 

One of the companies affected is Pacific Shipping Trust (PST) which has 

filed an update to the Singapore stock exchange that CSAV is seeking to 

reduce charter rates on two PST-owned 4,250 teu ships by 30% of which 

part of the reduction could be capitalised. Other owners that could be 

affected could include Seaspan and German owners, Hermann Buss, Laeisz 

Schiffahrt and NVA. 

In a press release, CSAV said that meetings were held in Hamburg during 

the second week of April with “shipowners, ship financing banks and 

shipyards and to address the tasks necessary for CSAV to counter the 

pressures the company is facing due to the very difficult economic 

environment.” The company reported that “the discussions went very 

positively and in a highly constructive way” and that the restructuring plan 

“has found positive reception and details of such a proposal are currently 

being worked out.” 

Besides the meetings with ship-owners, discussions are taking place with 

other stakeholders, including shipyards to negotiate the current new 

building program. CSAV is confident that as part of the overall 

restructuring process, agreements will be made with the shipyards as well 

in due time. 


250 

200 

150 

100 

50 

0 

-50 

-100 

-150 

-200 

-250 

-300 



NOL Group 

Quarterly Profit/Loss 

1Q07 to 1Q09 (forecast) 

US$M 

1Q 

07 

2Q 

07 

3Q 

07 

4Q 

07 

1Q 

08 

2Q 

08 

3Q 

08 

APL Newbuilding 


2009-2012 


2012 10,700 Daewoo 

2012 10,700 Daewoo 

2012 10,700 Daewoo 

2012 10,700 Daewoo 

2012 10,070 Hyundai 

2012 10,070 Hyundai 

2012 10,070 Hyundai 

2012 10,070 Hyundai 

APL also has 20 ships on LT 

charter arrangements due in 

2009-2012 

4Q 

08 

1Q 

09 

(F) 

NOL first quarter loss could soar to -$240M 

Neptune Orient Lines Limited, the parent company of APL, has issued a 

profit warning to the Singapore stock exchange, announcing that it 

anticipates its first quarter 2009 results to show an estimated net loss of 

US$240M, which is in excess of the net loss of US$149 million which the 

Group reported for 4Q 2008. 

The first quarter results for the Singapore based carrier will be reported on 

12 May 2009. In its release, NOL blamed the seasonally slower first quarter 

period for the slump in profits. However, the company added that “this 

deterioration in performance is also due to a worsening of business 

operating conditions in the first quarter. On the expectation of adverse 

business operating conditions continuing, NOL expects its full year loss to 

be significantly worse”. 

Following the announcement, some analysts have downgraded earnings 

estimates for NOL. BNP Paribas revised its full year net loss estimate to 

$486M, which is significantly more than the consensus estimate that 

currently stands at $230M. 

Earlier, NOL had announced plans for an additional $250M-$300M in cost 

savings, bringing the annual total for 2009 to $500M-$550M. The company 

says that the expected loss for the year is notwithstanding the ongoing cost 

savings and mitigation efforts undertaken by the company. 

NOL president and chief executive Ron Widdows has taken a “voluntary” 

20% reduction in remuneration from March, while the company’s chairman 

will be taking a 40% reduction in director’s pay. In November, the company 

had already announced a reduction of its global workforce by 1,000 

positions, mainly in North America. Further job losses and salary 

adjustments could still follow. 

NOL had earlier denied speculation that it is considering a rights issue to 

raise its capital base to cope with the difficult period. Given the latest 

announcement on the potentially significant losses expected this year, the 

company may still need to undertake measures to shore up its capital 

structure. The company has $467M of short term borrowings that is due to 

be repaid in 2009. 

Apart from its commitments on eight ships of 10,000 teu on order for 

delivery in 2012, the company has 20 additional ships on long term charter 

contracts due for delivery between 2009 and 2012. It has already 

negotiated with shipyards and owners for later delivery of its new vessels 

and currently has 21 ships (22% of its capacity) idle, making it one of the 

worst casualties of the current over-capacity environment. 




OOCL revenue tumbles 31% in first quarter 

Hong Kong based OOCL has released its first quarter operational update 

with total revenues dropping by 31.2% to $954M from $1.4M a year ago. 

Liftings were 15.6% down from the same period last year. 

The overall load factor dropped by 11% compared with last year despite a 

1.2% decrease in capacity. Overall average revenue per teu decreased by 

18.5% compared with the same period last year. 

OOCL Operating Highlights 1Q 2009 breakdown by trade 

Liftings (teu) Revenue ($'000) $/teu 

Trade 1Q2009 1Q2008 Change 1Q2009 1Q2008 Change 1Q2009 1Q2008 Change 

Trans-Pacific 279,377 329,496 -15.2% 409,980 496,598 -17.4% 1467 1507.144 -2.6% 

Asia/Europe 164,300 191,904 -14.4% 149,819 343,521 -56.4% 9121.8624 1790.067 -49.1% 

Trans-Atlantic 85,378 99,713 -14.4% 131,153 168,955 -22.4% 1536.145 1694.413 -9.3% 

Intra-Asia/Australasia 449,107 538,036 -16.5% 263,215 378,232 -30.4% 586.0853 702.9864 -16.6% 

TOTAL 978,162 1,159,149 -15.6% 954,167 1,387,306 -31.2% 975.4693 1196.831 -18.5% 

All trades suffered 

reductions in both 

volume and rates 

The carrier saw the largest revenue slide on the Asia-Europe trades, with 

revenue more than halved from $344M to $150M. Liftings fell by 14% but 

more significantly, rates on the trade dropped by 49% which contributed to 

the drastic slide in profitability. 

Surprisingly, the intra-Asia and Australasian trades also took a severe 

hammering, with revenue falling by 30% to $263M. Both volumes and rates 

in the trade dropped by about 16.5%. This trade represents OOCL’s largest 

tradelane, accounting for 46% of its total liftings. 

All tradelanes suffered a drop in both rates and volumes. While the Trans- 

Pacific trade saw the lowest drop in revenue per teu, the impact of the 

rate slump will likely be felt from May onwards when the new Trans-Pacific 

contracts are in place. 

The carrier said it plans to slash capacity and admits that the outlook 

remains “poor” with rates falling below profitable levels. The first-quarter 

operating results were released a month after the parent company Orient 

Overseas (International) Ltd (OOIL) announced a drop in underlying net 

profit for 2008 which halved to $272.3M as a result of higher costs and a 

challenging environment for OOCL. 

Responding to the crash in volumes, the company plans to cut capacity by 

20% in 2009 by redelivering chartered-in tonnage and suspending services. 

OOCL currently has 14% of its capacity idled. 


Liftings in M teu 

% Increase 



2.669 

Hamburg Sud 

Volume Growth 

2006-2008 

25% 

2.143 

16% 

1.840 

21% 

2008 2007 2006 

Hamburg Sud Newbuilding 


2009-2012 


Mar-09 5,560 Daewoo (DMHI) 

May-09 5,905 Daewoo (DMHI) 

Aug-09 5,905 Daewoo (DMHI) 

Oct-09 7,100 Daewoo (DMHI) 

Dec-09 7,100 Daewoo (DMHI) 

Dec-09 5,905 Daewoo (DMHI) 

Feb-10 7,100 Daewoo (DMHI) 

Apr-10 7,100 Daewoo (DMHI) 

May-10 4,600 Daewoo (DSME) 

Jun-10 7,100 Daewoo (DMHI) 

Jul-10 4,600 Daewoo (DSME) 

Aug-10 7,100 Daewoo (DMHI) 

Hamburg Süd reports higher revenue & volume 

The Hamburg Süd Group presented what it called a “satisfactory result” for 

2008 but warns that 2009 will be a challenging year for the liner services. 

The carrier’s total turnover in 2008 rose by 32.8% to $6.5Bn of which liner 

revenue accounted for $5.5Bn or 84% of the total revenue. In addition to 

the liner operations, the group also operates 60 tramp ships on the bulk 

trades which includes the tramp operations of Rudolf A. Oetker and 

Furness Withy Chartering. The group, which is part of the German Oetker 

Group does not disclose actual profit figures. 

Hamburg Süd’s container volume grew by an impressive 25% to reach 2.67 

Mteu. Part of the increase was due to the acquisition of Costa Container 

Lines (CCL) which was taken over in November 2007. It eventually dropped 

the Costa brand name at the end of 2008 and currently only operates 

alongside its Brazillian sister company Alianca. Over the last decade, the 

company’s liftings have averaged an annual increase of 21%, due partly to 

the acquisitions that were made during that period which had included 

Ellerman Line, Kien Hung, Ybarra and the cross-trade operations of FESCO. 

The carrier had earlier said that “for the first time in many years, 2008 saw 

a structural overcapacity in container ships and this will continue to rise 

substantially in the months ahead. Even if world trade were to experience 

a recovery in 2010 - a situation not yet foreseeable today - it would still 

take quite some time for supply and demand in container shipping to 

achieve equilibrium.” 

The present downturn hit the Hamburg Süd liner operations in the final 

quarter of 2008 when vessel utilisation fell to 72%. The Line said that its 

core trades from Asia, Europe and North America to South America East 

Coast were worst hit and South American imports had collapsed by 40% and 

exports were down 20% in January. 

Like all major carriers, Hamburg Süd has embarked on a cost-saving 

program that will attempt to streamline its liner network and make cuts in 

its cost structure, with target savings of up to €300M in 2009. The cost 

cutting measures will reach from a freeze in hiring to re-negotiations of 

terminal charges and vessel charter rates. Hamburg Süd currently has 

about 8% of its capacity idle. 

The carrier also has a significant orderbook with a series of 12 ships due for 

delivery over 2009 to 2010. This includes six ships of 7,100 teu from a 

series of ten units initially ordered by CP Offen that will be deployed on its 

ECSA trades. They will be fitted with up to 1,500 reefer plugs, which will 

make them the world's largest reefer ships. 




Textainer to acquire 

Amficon fleet from 1 May 

Main Container Leasing 

Companies 

Total Dry Container Fleet 

as at Jan 2009 

Textainer increases its container fleet 

Leading container lessor, Textainer announced on 16 April that it has 

acquired the management rights to 150,000 teu of containers from 

Amphibious Container Leasing Limited (Amficon). The acquisition takes 

effect from 1 May. Arising from this purchase, Textainer will operate a 

fleet of approximately 2.2 million TEU of mainly dry containers. 

With the acquisition, Textainer would control approximately 19% of the 

global leasing market for dry containers, further extending its current lead 

at the top of the leasing fleet table. The acquisition of Amficon’s 

significant number of flat rack and open top containers will also double 

Textainer’s fleet of specialized containers, a market segment that it is 

planning to strategically increase. 

This is the latest in a series of consolidations in the container leasing 

sector as it grapples with a challenging operating environment with 

difficult funding conditions and carrier returning surplus container units to 

lessors. Textainer has earlier acquired the management of the fleet of 

Gateway in 2006 and Capital Lease in 2007. 

Textainer 

Florens 

Triton 

TAL 

GE Seaco 

CAI 

Seacastle 

Gold 

UES/GVC 

Cronos 

Dong Fang 

Capital 

Amficon 

Beacon 

Top 15 Container Leasing Company Fleet as at Jan 2009 

(Dry containers only excl Reefers) 

CARU 

Textainer and Amficon 

fleet to be combined 

from 1 May 2009 

0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 

TEU Millions 




DELIVERY UPDATES 

Recent Deliveries 

April 2009 

Name Teu Operator 

BELUGA NATION 474 N/A 

CCL NINGBO 698 Centrans 

O.M. UNDARUM 704 N/A 

ALASKABORG 964 N/A 

MARE 974 Contaz 

VEGA AQUILA 997 N/A 

EMPIRE 1,440 N/A 

WARNOW MASTER 1,496 N/A 

MAERSK WINDHOEK 1,708 Maersk 

CSCL CALLAO 2,544 CSCL 

FESCO DIOMID 3,108 MSC 

ZIM DALIAN 4,253 Zim 

RUDOLF SCHEPERS 4,256 K Line 

COSCO FUKUYAMA 4,506 COSCO 

NYK REMUS 4,922 NYK 

APL WASHINGTON 6,966 APL 

XIN DA YANG ZHOU 8,530 CSCL 

HAMMERSMITH BR. 9,040 K Line 

CMA CGM HYDRA 10,960 CMA CGM 

XIN DA YANG ZHOU (8,530 teu) is delivered 

CSCL is to receive the 8,530 teu XIN DA YANG ZHOU, last of five sister 

ships ordered by CSCL at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co 

Ltd (aka Hudong Shipyard) in October 2004. Her completion was delayed 

by the crash of a gantry crane at the yard last July. Her employment is 

currently unknown. The XIN DA YANG ZHOU follows the XIN FEI ZHOU, 

delivered in December. 

NYK REMUS (4,922 teu) is delivered 

NYK has received the NYK REMUS, ninth unit in a series of twelve 4,922 

teu panamaxes ordered at Hyundai H.I. in two steps in November 2004 and 

November 2006. The NYK REMUS was initially expected to join the Grand 

Alliance-Zim new FE-USEC joint service (SCE), but this plan was altered 

and the ship is believed to join at a later date. She follows the NYK 

DENEB, delivered one year earlier. 

RUDOLF SCHEPERS (4,256 teu) joins K Line 

German shipowner Rudolf Schepers has taken delivery of the 4,256 teu 

RUDOLF SCHEPERS, first unit in the ‘Jiangsu 4250’ series produced by the 

Jiangsu Yangzijiang shipyard. 

The RUDOLF SCHEPERS joins her charterer K Line, which has assigned her 

to the Far East-ECSA SEAS service run by CMA CGM, Maruba, CSCL and K 

Line. This service was organized in March 2009 through the merger of the 

SEAS 1 and SEAS 2 loops. 

COSCO FUKUYAMA (4,506 teu) is delivered 

COSCO Container Lines has taken in charge the COSCO FUKUYAMA, fourth 

of a series of 4,506 teu panamaxes ordered at Samsung by Japanese 

financing house Itochu Corp. with the backing of a COSCO long term 

charter. The COSCO FUKUYAMA is assigned to the CKYH FE-USEC 'AWE 2' 

loop. She follows the COSCO OSAKA, delivered in September 

CSCL CALLAO (2,544 teu) is delivered 

Seaspan Corporation has received the 2,544 teu CSCL CALLAO, seventh of 

eight ships of the 'Jiangsu 2500' design ordered by this owner to the 

Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Co. 

The CSCL CALLAO is chartered to CSCL for a period of 12 years. She will 

start her career on the Far East-Africa service offered by Hapag-Lloyd, 

CSCL and Maruba (WAX/WSX). She is the 20th unit built in the 'Jiangsu 

2500' series and follows the CSCL SAN JOSE, delivered in December. 




TERMINAL UPDATES 

VLCS presents 

challenges to current 

Hamburg draft conditions 

Hamburg receives its largest containership 

The port of Hamburg has welcomed its largest-ever containership, the 

11,356 teu CMA CGM ANDROMEDA, completed two months ago by Hyundai 

H.I. and assigned to the French Line’s FAL-1 loop. The call came less than 

two weeks after Antwerp’s first ULCS call, which was performed by MSC 

BEATRICE (13,798 teu) 

The 363 m vessel is another milestone for Hamburg. Calls like those of CMA 

CGM ANDROMEDA and the recent visit of MARIT MAERSK (10,000 teu) on her 

delivery voyage, prove that Hamburg is ready to handle vessels of more 

than 360 metres in length as regular callers. 

Currently, most of the large mainline container ships at Hamburg stand in 

the 8,000 to 10,000 teu range. Typically, such vessels have a length of 335 

to 350 m, while the new breed of 11,300 to 14,000 teu ships will measure 

about 365 metres in length. The step from VLCS to ULCS might seem small, 

but Hamburg – just as Antwerp – is a river port, where vessels have to 

travel some four hours upriver from the open sea and negotiate a busy and 

winding fairway. In order to ensure that such river ports remain 

competitive in the long term is it essential that they can handle the coming 

generation of containerships. 

However, neither Antwerp nor Hamburg nor any comparable river port can 

presently accept very large and ultra-large vessels at full draft. In such 

ports, the ships have to sail in with the flood tide on a slightly reduced 

draft. These drawbacks are compensated by Hamburg’s and Antwerp’s 

proximity to the consumer markets, the final destination of the ships’ 

cargo. In order to further improve nautical conditions for large (container) 

vessels, dredging schemes are in the pipeline for both Hamburg’s river Elbe 

and Antwerp’s river Scheldt. 

At Hamburg, the CMA CGM ANDROMEDA is handled at HHLA’s Burchardkai 

(CTB). CTB is presently undergoing a reconstruction scheme that will add 

multiple ULCS-ready berths and double the facility's capacity to 5.2 Mteu 

per year. The CMA CGM ANDROMEDA is presently the largest ship in CMA 

CGM’s fleet. She is the first of a series of 12 units. CMA CGM is due to 

receive its first of a series of eight 13,300 teu ship in July. 




Cost management to 

cope with downturn 

Eurogate unveils strong 2008 results 

The Eurogate Group, a German stevedore and terminal operator created in 

1999 through the merger of Hamburg’s Eurokai and the Bremen-based BLG, 

has presented its figures for the year 2008. Despite the slow market, 

Eurogate closed fiscal 2008 with the best operating result in the company’s 

10-year history. 

Like for many terminal operators, 2008 was a peculiar year for Eurogate. 

An extraordinarily strong first half of 2008 boosted the company’s 

performance to such a degree that it has offset the low end year 

volumes.The group increased its revenue by 8.4% to €715M and posted a 

profit of €116.5M, 3.5% above the previous year’s level. It handled a total 

of 14.2 Mteu. 

Eurogate’s outlook for the ongoing year is determined by the current 

financial and economic crisis with declining container volumes in the first 

quarter of 2009 (minus 17,7% in its main ports of Bremerhaven and 

Hamburg). Eurogate said it has adapted its human resources and 

investment planning to cope with the downturn. The group held talks with 

its employee representatives in order to negotiate more flexible working 

hours and payment schemes, in order to be able to respond promptly to 

developments in container handling. The company is planning to introduce 

short-time work in Bremerhaven, where volumes suffered the most, but 

does not plan any enforced layoffs. 

Of the €470M planned for 2008 investments, only €238.4M were actually 

spent. Most non-essential investments have been postponed and will most 

likely be delayed beyond 2009. Nevertheless, Eurogate said it will adhere 

to its large-scale investment projects such as the westward expansion of its 

Hamburg terminal. The company is thus continuing to push for the 

deepening of the shipping channels in the rivers Weser and Elbe and other 

port-related infrastructure projects. 

Outside of Germany, the company operates terminals in Italy, Portugal and 

Morocco. The new Eurogate container terminal at the Moroccan port of 

Tangier Med, which started operations in September 2008 and became fully 

operational earlier this year handled 64,178 teu in its first quarter. The 

facility lately acquired a new customer : the Japanese shipping line MOL, 

which is to use Tangier for a new Asia-West Africa service by transhipment 

between the New World Alliance Asia-Europe JEX loop and its new Tangier- 

West Africa feeder service. Meanwhile, the Eurogate facility at Cagliari, 

Sardinia, received a dramatic boost last year, when the Grand Alliance 

moved its Mediterranean hub to the port. In terms of group-wide cargo 

handling figures though, the move was a zero-sum-game for Eurogate. Most 

of the new business was acquired at the expense of Gioia Tauro, another 

Eurogate terminal. 




Top 5 Global Terminal 

Operators 

Liftings 

2008 vs 2007 

Mixed fortunes as 

COSCO Pacific sees 

dramatic declines in 

Jan-Mar 2009 volumes 

COSCO Pacific Terminals reports 2008 results 

COSCO Pacific’s total container terminal throughput increased by 18% to 

reach 45.8 Mteu in 2008, from the 38.9 Mteu recorded in 2007. Profit from 

the container terminal business was flat $128M, the same level as recorded 

in 2007. 

Cosco Pacific has stakes in container terminals in mainland China, Hong 

Kong, Singapore, Belgium, Egypt and Greece. It is currently the fifth 

largest global port operator based on unadjusted throughput. 

Liftings in M teu 

Before equity adjustments 

67.6 

66.3 

63.5 63.2 

58.8 

HPH APMT 

(Est) 

2008 2007 

46.8 45.8 

The company said that it is cutting capital expenditures and will stop new 

port investments as it seeks to conserve cash during the current industry 

slump. The company’s vice chairman had confirmed that COSCO Pacific's 

capital expenditure will fall to $570M in 2009 from $890M in 2008. The 

company believes new port investments are too risky in the current 

operating environment. Hence it will focus on improving and developing 

ports in which it holds a controlling stake. 

The company plans to slow the progress of committed new port projects to 

meet the forecast decrease in demand this year. The company chairman 

also added that he expects “the situation in 2009 to be even worse than in 

the fourth quarter of last year.” 

For the first quarter of 2009, COSCO Pacific’s terminals dropped by 8%, 

with the most dramatic falls seen in Singapore (-52%), Antwerp (-46%), 

Hong Kong (-27%) and Nansha (-25%). Total liftings at its terminals over the 

January to March period dropped to 9.6 Mteu from 10.4 Mteu a year 

earlier. 


58.9 

43.3 

38.9 

PSA DPW COSCO 

Pacific



SIPG defers Zeebrugge investment 

SHANGHAI International Port Group (SIPG) has decided to postpone its 40% 

investment in APM Terminals Zeebrugge. APM Terminals and SIPG had 

announced a “framework agreement” in September 2006 that would lead 

to the acquisition of a ‘substantial minority interest’ in the Belgian facility 

by SIPG. It would have marked the first overseas foray for the Shanghai 

port operator. However, the current downturn in container volumes have 

prompted the Chinese operator to temporarily abandon its international 

expansion plans and will instead focus on its home market which is also 

facing a significant slowing in handling volumes. Despite the recent 

slowdown in trade, SIPG still expects business at its stronghold – the port of 

Shanghai – to grow by 3.9% this year to reach 29 Mteu. The group’s 2008 

net profit increased by more than a quarter year-on-year and reached USD 

676 M. 

AP Moeller-Maersk’s annual report reveals that the terminal remains 

wholly-owned by AMPT ever since its launch in 2006. APMT currently 

partners SIPG at the Shanghai East Container Terminal, which was 

established in 2002. 

Busan Port to acquire three berths from New Port 

South Korea’s Busan Port Authority (BPA) has announced that it would 

acquire three berths at the North Terminal of Pusan New Port from Pusan 

New Port Co before the end of the month. 

The three berths with a total capacity of 1.5 Mteu are currently nearing 

completion. No purchase price was disclosed but it was reported that BPA 

will put the berths out to open tender by the end of this month. 

PSA International was reported to have approached the Korean government 

expressing interest in buying the three berths in 2008, and is known to 

have been in touch with the authorities again this year. It is the frontrunner 

in the bid to acquire the three new berths under an open tender 

process, with little interest shown by other operators. 

Pusan New Port Co, which is majority-owned by DP World, has struggled to 

attract cargo at the six berths it operates since it opened in late 2006, 

which remains severely under-utilised. 

Additional capacity is expected to be added by 2011, when Busan New 

Container Terminal (BNCT), also known as Busan Phase 2-3, begins 

operations. This terminal is a joint venture partnership that includes 

Macquarie, CMA CGM, BPA, KMTC and other local partners.

AXS-Alphaliner Newsl..

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