Hamburg (ots) - Hamburg Süd and its sister company Aliança Navegação é Logística Ltda. & Cia. saw its cargo volume in the liner services increase by 10 percent to over 1.5 million TEU. In parallel, the average container inventory for the year rose by just under 10 per cent to 204,000 units. The slot capacity of the deployed fleet offered in the liner services grew by 17 per cent to 198,600 TEU (2004: 169,000 TEU). At the end of 2005 the fleet comprised 146 units (2004: 141), including 56 tramp ships (2004: 59). The fleet owned by the Group rose to 27 vessels with the addition of three further vessels of the "Monte" class. The turnover of the
Hamburg Süd Group rose by 19 per cent on 2004, $3.77b. Of this, $3b (82 per cent) was attributable to the liner division, up EUR 503 million on the previous year due to the positive developments in volume and rates. Turnover in the tramp division, in contrast, $563m (15 per cent of total turnover), was $60m below the previous year's level, a material factor here being, among other things, falling earnings in the second half of the year. Overall in 2005, Hamburg Süd and Aliança turned in a respectable performance which exceeded that of the previous year. At $481m, investment volume in 2005 reached the highest level in the history of the Hamburg Süd Group. This is equivalent to an increase of 28 per cent in comparison with the previous year.