Maersk leases additional tonnage to close the gap with MSC

Maersk has been actively purchasing vessels in response to rapidly falling charter rates. One of their recent acquisitions is the 13,808 TEU Thalassa Elpida, which was subleased from Evergreen Marine Corporation. The terms of the agreement are confidential, but Maersk will own the vessel for three months. Another vessel, a 12,690 TEU vessel from Costamare, was leased to Maersk by Yang Ming Marine Transport for $57,000 per day for a year.

Maersk has been trying to catch up to its main rival, MSC, by bringing several ships to the US East Coast and South America for loading. Aside from the two vessels mentioned, Maersk has also chartered the 4,252 TEU Nagoya Tower from Zodiac Maritime for $17,000 a day for two to six months. It is rumored that a recent order for a quartet of 5,900 TEU vessels from Tsuneishi Shipbuilding was made by Japanese tonnage provider Nissen Kaiun, who plans to charter them to Maersk.

While Maersk has been actively expanding its fleet, MSC’s lead over Maersk continues to widen. Last week, MSC acquired two post-Panamax units and the 4,600 TEU Bea Schulte, which was renamed MSC Lome V. MSC now has a lead of over 1.3 million TEU, with Maersk’s capacity currently at 4.12 million TEU. Both companies are competing to increase their market share in the shipping industry.

Source .