Maersk Line, a unit of Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk, said the capacity reduction would be facilitated by a vessel-sharing agreement with French container shipping line, CMA CGM.
"Oversupply of container vessels operating on the Asia-Europe trade lane has pushed Maersk Line's container freight rates to unsustainably low levels," the company said.
Shares in A.P. Moller-Maersk rose in brisk trade after the announcement and traded up 2.5 percent at 47,000 crowns per share by 1258 GMT.
Maersk Line referred to an Alphaliner forecast that Europe to Far East container traffic growth would slow to 1.5 percent in 2012 from an estimated 2.8 percent in 2011, due to a weakening economic outlook in Europe. "The industry container vessel fleet, by contrast, is set to grow by 8.3 percent in 2012."
Maersk Line said it would make the adjustment without giving up any market share gained over the past two years.
"We will defend our market share position at any cost, while focusing on growing with the market and restoring profitability," Maersk Line Chief Executive Soren Skou said in the statement.
Maersk Line said the cooperation with privately owned CMA CGM would help it cut the cost of serving West Mediterranean markets, enable it to deploy its own vessels to areas where they are most needed and pursue further slow-steaming.
Maersk Line said it would also consider additional steps to reduce capacity, including redelivery of time charter tonnage, lay-ups of vessels and slow-steaming, which means sailing at lower-than-normal speeds.
Maersk reiterated that it would not exercise an option for the last 10 giant Triple-E class vessels out of a total of 30 it had initially contracted last year to have built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in Korea. (Reuters)
