Denmark:
Larger units, more orders and record income

The gas tanker “Maersk Ras Laffan” is a perfect example showing the trend in the Danish merchant fleet; fewer, but larger. The LNG tanker is the largest gas carrier ever to fly the Danish flag, and it is also the first-ever newbuilding in this sector to fly the Danish flag. A.P. Møller-Mærsk has joined up with Qatar Petroleum and Exxon/Mobil for a long-term transportation agreement, shipping Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Ras Laffan in Qatar to mainly Far Eastern destinations. With a price tag of DKK 1.1 billion (USD 170 million), the LNG tanker is believed to be the most expensive newbuilding ever delivered to a Danish owner. The vessel measurements: length o.a. 278.60 metres, width 42.6 metres and a draft of 12.60 metres with a full cargo. The 93,266 GT vessel has a deadweight of 77,500 tons and a cargo capacity of 138,200 cubic metres in four tanks. The LNG is carried cooled down to minus 163° C. The vessel is powered by a steam turbine plant developing 33,580 shaft horse power, giving a speed of 21 knots. Samsung Heavy Industries delivered the ship from the Koje shipyard as newbuilding number 1425. A. P. Møller-Mærsk is currently working on several other contracts for the transportation of LNG, and is expected to order more vessels in this high-value category during the year.

Measured in numbers, the Danish merchant fleet is shrinking, but the remaining vessels are earning more foreign currency than ever before. Also, the average age of the fleet is at a historically low level. Measured in tonnage, the fleet is, however, growing, so the trend is very clear: fewer, but larger units.

There are signs of growth as Danish owners have secured newbuildings for delivery over the coming years. Especially the Danish giant A.P. Møller-Mærsk has been very active in the newbuilding market. The official number of Danish newbuildings stood at 88 vessels in October, 2003, but since then A.P. Møller-Mærsk has been very active. At the moment, the company’s order book contains in excess of 110 vessels – and with options on further ships.

All categories
The A.P. Møller-Mærsk fleet covers nearly all ship segments; from VLCCs to Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGC), drilling rigs, product tankers, chemical tankers, ro-pax vessels and offshore vessels. More are in the pipeline. A.P. Møller-Mærsk is expected shortly to secure more LNG tonnage – an expanding sector of Danish shipping.

The DFDS Group has also taken delivery of more ro-ro vessels from Flensburg. The ship deals of the Danish ro-ro and ferry specialist confirm the trend of the Danish shipping sector. By selling off 8,500 DWT ro-ro vessels and replacing them with Flower class ro-ro ships of 10,500 DWT the fleet has been expanded by the inclusion of larger vessels.

At the end of 2003, the Danish fleet stood at 507 vessels totalling 9.3 million tons deadweight. Looking back 10 years, this represents a decrease in numbers of almost 100 vessels, but capacity has increased significantly. In 1993, the fleet consisted of 609 vessels totalling 7.06 million tons deadweight. Again, larger but fewer units.

People and money
The number of seafarers has been stable over the last decade. In 2003, 13,877 persons were working on Danish ships. Of these, 10,038 were Danes, 524 persons were nationals of other Nordic countries or EU-member states, and 3,315 were from non-European countries.

The Danish shipboard and shore-based organisations were estimated to contribute by DKK 100 billion (EUR 13,4 billion) to the country’s foreign currency income in 2003. That’s an increase by more than 10 per cent compared to 2002, when the estimate was DKK 90 billion (EUR 12,9 billion).

//Bent Mikkelsen

Latest update 18-10-2006 8:49

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