Maersk sells ships to Norway group

Maersk sells ships to Norway group

By Robert Wright, Transport Correspondent

Published: January 30 2008 11:27 | Last updated: January 30 2008 17:54

AP Møller-Maersk is to dispose of its car-carrying ships to Norway’s Höegh Autoliners in the latest restructuring move at the vast and troubled Danish shipping and oil conglomerate.

The move, announced on Wednesday, will help Höegh in its efforts to expand its fleet to compete with other large operators of car-carrying ships.

In return for its 12 existing vessels, six new buildings currently under construction, and an undisclosed cash sum, Maersk will take a 37.5 per cent stake in Höegh Autoliners. Höegh Autoliners will continue to be controlled by privately held, Oslo-based Leif Höegh & Company, which also operates liquefied natural gas-carrying ships.

Maersk said it would make a net profit of around $200m on the disposal of the ships.

After the deal, Höegh will control a fleet of around 67 car-carrying roll-on, roll-off ships, out of a total world fleet of a little over 500. Car carrier operators have been eager to expand after miscalculating in the 1990s that Asian car manufacturers’ opening of plants in the USA and Europe would reduce demand for their ships. Tight capacity at shipyards has meant few have been able to expand to meet growing demand.

Thor Jørgen Guttormsen, Höegh Autoliners’ chief executive, said Höegh wanted to grow and had had a deal since last year where Höegh operated the ships on Maersk’s behalf.

“We felt it would be better to have a jointly-owned company,” he said.

Co-operation between the two companies dated back to 1927, when Arnold Peter Møller, Maersk’s founder, took a stake in the first ship operated by his father, Leif Höegh, Westye Höegh, Höegh’s chairman, said.

“Having A.P. Møller-Maersk on board again makes a strong company even stronger and well positioned for exciting developments in challenging waters ahead,” he said.

Søren Skou, the Maersk board member responsible for the car carrier operation, said Maersk had confidence in Höegh Autoliners’ strategy and believed it could contribute positively to the cooperation based on its expertise in scheduled shipping services and logistics.

Maersk, whose Maersk Line is much the world’s largest operator of container ships, has been gradually shedding businesses not core to its container shipping and oil production businesses over the last 10 years. The divestments have included the airline Maersk Air and the dry bulk shipping operations. Nils Andersen, who took over as only the fourth chief executive in Maersk’s 104-year history in November, has said a turnaround at Maersk Line – currently operating at a loss – is his top priority.

Shares in A.P. Møller-Maersk were up 2.2 per cent at DKr51,500, supported by buying interest from international investors.