Maersk Line has ruled out adding containerships larger than 18,000 TEU to its fleet, according to chief executive Søren Skou, saying vessels that are too big could undermine trading flexibility.
Having led the industry in pursuit of megaships by ordering 20 Triple-E vessels in 2011, the world’s largest box carrier has stayed quiet in newbuilding markets and has seen several competitors book similar-size ships.
Amid speculation that Maersk could soon seek even larger vessels with all ships on its orderbook set to be delivered by mid-2015, Mr Skou stressed that ships larger than 18,000 TEU were not under consideration.
“I don’t think we are going to build ships bigger than the Triple-E size,” Mr Skou said in an interview.
“There is some speculation we could go to 25,000 TEU. I don’t see that’s going to happen 18,000 TEU, at least for now, is the maximum size from the trading flexibility point of view.”
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