Maersk Line Appoints GAC for Husbandry Services

Maersk Line, has appointed GAC to provide husbandry services for its vessels calling at Hong Kong.
 
Maersk Line is part of the Maersk Group, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. It operates 608 container vessels and has 374 offices in 116 countries. The company employs 7,100 seafarers and 25,500 land-based employees.
 
Under the two-year contract, which commenced on July 1, 2015, GAC will handle more than 1,000 calls by Maersk Line and MCC vessels per year at all ports and terminals in Hong Kong.
 
Hong Kong ranked as the world’s fourth largest container port with a throughput of 22.3 million TEUs in 2014. In 2015, however, container throughput year-on-year declined, dropping by double digits in March 2015. The port’s handling capacity has been impacted by a number of factors including greater deployment of mega container vessels, a substantial rise in river barge traffic, as these are favored over inland transportation for the movement of cargo containers and the port’s increasing reliance on international transshipments.
 
Nonetheless, Okbo remains optimistic that container throughput will rebound and that Hong Kong will see a moderate growth in the near future. “Hong Kong will continue to be one of the world’s thriving container ports,” he said. “With enhanced port handling capacity, I expect the throughput to turn around, which will in turn boost the demand for our shipping services.”