ALPHALINER Weekly Newsletter

Transcription

1 ALPHALINER Weekly Newsletter to Volume 2009 Issue 16 Web: Sales: 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 Market Share Evolution Top 3 Carriers 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 Top 3 Carriers Evolution Alphaliner Maersk acquires P&O Nedlloyd The rise and rise of MSC P a g e 1 Copyright Alphaliner % 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 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

2 Top 3 Carriers - Liftings Top 3 Carriers Volume Growth TEU Millions Maersk Line MSC CMA CGM 2.00 MSC operating costs lower than its competitors? Carrier CAGR Maersk 1.9% MSC 17.3% CMA CGM 23.8% MSC Newbuilding Delivery Schedule TEU 2007 TEU 2006 TEU 2005 TEU 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. 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 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 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 P a g e 2 Copyright Alphaliner

3 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 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

4 SERVICE UPDATES 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. Amsterdam left with sole mainline service following departure of EU 2 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 The port forecasts a decline in throughput of 6%-10% for 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 Current crisis prompts further service consolidation in Intra-Asia 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. P a g e 4 Copyright Alphaliner

5 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. Consolidation also in Asia-Australian trades 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. 2 new services in WCSA launched 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 : upgraded Western and Central Med coverage 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, P a g e 5 Copyright Alphaliner

6 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 P a g e 6 Copyright Alphaliner

7 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 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 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. P a g e 7 Copyright Alphaliner

8 CORPORATE UPDATES 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 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 % CSAV Newbuilding Delivery Schedule 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* Oct-10 12,552 Samsung Jan-11 12,552 Samsung* Apr-11 12,552 Samsung Jun-11 12,552 Samsung* Oct-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 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. P a g e 8 Copyright Alphaliner

9 NOL first quarter loss could soar to -$240M NOL Group Quarterly Profit/Loss 1Q07 to 1Q09 (forecast) US$M 1Q 07 2Q 07 3Q 07 4Q 07 1Q 08 2Q 08 3Q 08 APL Newbuilding Delivery Schedule Dely Teu Shipyard ,700 Daewoo ,700 Daewoo ,700 Daewoo ,700 Daewoo ,070 Hyundai ,070 Hyundai ,070 Hyundai ,070 Hyundai APL also has 20 ships on LT charter arrangements due in Q 08 1Q 09 (F) 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 The first quarter results for the Singapore based carrier will be reported on 12 May 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 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 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. P a g e 9 Copyright Alphaliner

10 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, , % 409, , % % Asia/Europe 164, , % 149, , % % Trans-Atlantic 85,378 99, % 131, , % % Intra-Asia/Australasia 449, , % 263, , % % TOTAL 978,162 1,159, % 954,167 1,387, % % 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. All trades suffered reductions in both volume and rates 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. P a g e 10 Copyright Alphaliner

11 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. Liftings in M teu % Increase Hamburg Sud Volume Growth % 21% 16% 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 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 a situation not yet foreseeable today - it would still take quite some time for supply and demand in container shipping to achieve equilibrium. Hamburg Sud Newbuilding Delivery Schedule Dely Teu Shipyard 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) 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 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 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. P a g e 11 Copyright Alphaliner

12 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. Textainer to acquire Amficon fleet from 1 May 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 Top 15 Container Leasing Company Fleet as at Jan 2009 (Dry containers only excl Reefers) Main Container Leasing Companies Total Dry Container Fleet as at Jan 2009 Textainer Florens Triton TAL GE Seaco CAI Seacastle Gold UES/GVC Cronos Dong Fang Capital Amficon Beacon CARU Textainer and Amficon fleet to be combined from 1 May TEU Millions P a g e 12 Copyright Alphaliner

13 DELIVERY UPDATES 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 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 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 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 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. P a g e 13 Copyright Alphaliner

14 TERMINAL UPDATES 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. VLCS presents challenges to current Hamburg draft conditions 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. P a g e 14 Copyright Alphaliner

15 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 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. Cost management to cope with downturn 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 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. P a g e 15 Copyright Alphaliner

16 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 Profit from the container terminal business was flat $128M, the same level as recorded in 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 Top 5 Global Terminal Operators Liftings 2008 vs 2007 Liftings in M teu Before equity adjustments HPH APMT (Est) PSA DPW COSCO Pacific 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 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. Mixed fortunes as COSCO Pacific sees dramatic declines in Jan-Mar 2009 volumes 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. P a g e 16 Copyright Alphaliner

17 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 APMT currently partners SIPG at the Shanghai East Container Terminal, which was established in 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. P a g e 17 Copyright Alphaliner