Eivind Kolding News

Søren Skou has been appointed new CEO of Maersk Line with effect from 16 January 2012. Søren Skou was previously CEO of Maersk Tankers and replaces Eivind Kolding who is leaving Maersk Line to become Chairman of the Executive Board of Danske Bank. ”Under Eivind Kolding’s skilled leadership, Maersk Line has undergone an impressive turnaround. Its competitiveness has improved significantly and at the same time, Maersk Line has set new standards for the industry with regards to environment and reliability.

The latest measure of container service reliability by Drewry’s Schedule Reliability Insight showed a steady improvement, with the percentage of ships arriving on time at selected ports rising to 56% in the second quarter of 2011, up from 51% in the first quarter. The overall figure for 2Q11 also compares well with the on-time reliability score of 52% in the same period of 2010. Despite continued freight rate erosion, shippers are getting better service in the East-West routes with reliability rising most in the Asia/Europe/Med, which increased by 13 percentage points against the previous period to 62% in 2Q11. Maersk Line regained its customary position as the most reliable of the Top 20 carriers (by vessel fleet size) across all the trades covered by Drewry.

At a signing ceremony in Tokyo, Japan, Maersk Line exercised its option with Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. to build an additional 10 Triple-E ships. The event follows Maersk Line's order in February this year for 10 Triple-E vessels with two options - each for an additional 10 ships. “I am very excited to have signed a contract with Daewoo for 10 more Triple-E ships. We now have twenty Triple-E on order. They underline our strong commitment to the Asia-Europe trade and fit well with our current ambitions and expectations for the future development of the trade. We believe the Triple-E ships with their record…

Today, Maersk Line CEO, Eivind Kolding, addressed the container shipping and logistics industry as the keynote speaker at the TOC conference in Antwerp, Belgium. His message was clear and simple: If container shipping is to secure its license to operate in the future, the industry needs to change now! Containerization revolutionized world trade. The potential it unlocked by efficiently connecting producers and consumers across the world enabled both shipping lines and their customers to develop their businesses in ways that previously had seemed impossible.

DCT Gdansk and Maersk Line have made a major step forward for the marine industry in Poland with the first regular E class vessels call to the Baltic Sea. In January 2010, Maersk and DCT started a revolution in the Baltic Sea by establishing a regular connection between the Far East and Gdansk served by 8,000 TEU vessels. With the upgrade to 15,500 TEU vessels - the largest in the world – the Baltic revolution is now in full swing. The maiden call of mv Maersk Elba gave cause for a two-day event during which many VIPs congratulated Maersk and DCT.

The arrival from China of the Rickmers-owned containership Maersk Elba at the DCT Gdansk terminal on 11 May marked a new era in Baltic shipping. At 13,092TEU and carrying containers 17-wide below deck and 19-wide on the hatchcovers, she is the biggest container vessel by far ever handled by a Baltic port. Whilst in the port, Maersk Elba was visited by many dignatories including Donald Tusk, Poland’s current Prime Minister, the iconic Lech Walesa, the former union leader who successfully ran for the newly re-established office of President of Poland in 1990…

Maersk Line signed a contract with 's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. to build 10 of what the company terms as the world's largest and most efficient vessels, with an option for an additional 20 vessels. Scheduled for delivery between 2013 and 2015, they will entirely change the shipping industry's understanding of size and efficiency. Called the 'Triple-E' class for the three main purposes behind their creation -- Economy of scale, Energy efficient and Environmentally…

Container shipping line Maersk Sealand, owned by Denmark`s shipping and oil conglomerate A.P. Moeller (APM), said on it was ready to expand again after a successful integration of its last major acquisitions. "We aim for a bigger market share and want to grow faster than the market", APM Chief Financial Officer Eivind Kolding said. In 1999 Maersk Line acquired South African shipping group Safmarine and U.S.-based international container line Sea-Land for a total of $1.04 billion. The deals made the Danish group the leading global container line with 250 ships and 700,000 containers and an estimated market share of 13 percent. However, the APM group`s ambitions are not limited to shipping activities, which accounted for 90 percent of 2000 first-half revenue.

As from December 1, 2007 Nils Smedegaard Andersen (CEO of Carlsberg A/S) will take up the position as Group CEO of A.P. Moller - Maersk A/S and withdraw from the Board of Directors of A.P. Moller -Maersk A/S. At the same date Jess Søderberg will resign as Group CEO of A.P. Moller - Maersk A/S. Originally Jess Søderberg was supposed to retire in 2009. With the advanced management change the Board of Directors has wished to clarify the future management relations and thus keep a constant drive in the company. By choosing Nils Smedegaard Andersen the Board also wishes to add new yet experienced capacity, which jointly with the other members of the management, will constitute a strong team to lead on A.P. Moller - Maersk A/S and create further development and higher profitability.