Maersk Line rewiev

Maersk Line

Maersk Line, the global containerized division of the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group, is dedicated to delivering the highest level of customer-focused and reliable ocean transportation services. Our vision, built from a strong heritage of uprightness, constant care, and innovation, has guided our business operations since  the first Maersk Line vessel sailed in 1904. By remaining committed to that vision we have expanded our business to become the world’s largest ocean carrier. And we are consistently recognized as the most reliable container shipping company. 
The Maersk Line fleet comprises more than 600 vessels and a number of containers corresponding to more than 3,800,000 TEU . This  ensures a reliable and comprehensive coverage worldwide. 

Corporate headquarters
Esplanaden 50, 1098 Copenhagen K, Denmark 
Phone: +45 3363 3363 
Fax: +45 3363 4108 


Management 
Søren Skou was appointed CEO of Maersk Line in January 2012. 
Søren Skou previously held various positions in Maersk Line from 1983 to 1998. In addition to being CEO of Maersk Tankers since 2001, Søren Skou has played an important part in the Group’s Executive Board. He has, amongst others, headed the Group’s initiatives to reduce costs in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, he has been the leader of the Group’s preparations for further expansion in the new growth markets. 

Søren Skou, Chief Executive Officer
Lucas Vos, Chief Commercial Officer 
Morten Engelstoft, Chief Operating Officer
Jakob Stausholm, Chief Strategy, Finance & Transformation Officer 
Vincent Clerc, Chief Trade & Marketing Officer
Michael Chivers, Head of Human Resources 


Company facts and information
Maersk Line is the core liner shipping business of the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group, and the leading container shipping company in the world. The Maersk Line fleet comprises more than 600 vessels and a number of containers corresponding to more than 3,800,000 TEU (Twenty foot Equivalent Unit – a container 20 feet long). This ensures a reliable and comprehensive coverage worldwide.


What is container shipping? 
Containerisation is a global system of intermodal cargo transport using standardised containers, which can be loaded and sealed intact onto container ships, railroad cars, planes and trucks. Prior to the introduction of containers, cargo handling for sea transportation was both time consuming and expensive. Containers have changed that fundamentally. Transport is now safer and more affordable than ever before.

World trade would not be the same without the modern container, invented in 1956. Today, it carries more than 90 percent of all goods in world trade. Every commodity and type of goods can be loaded and carried in ‘the box’, as the container is often referred to. As a result, modern container shipping has changed the way we transport goods around the world and has played a key role in globalisation.

A single 20-foot container can hold about 48,000 bananas. So, in theory, a PS-vessel such as the EMMA MAERSK can transport approximately 746 million bananas in a single voyage - enough to give every person in Europe or North America a banana for breakfast

If all Maersk Line containers were placed one after the other, they would reach about 19,000 km. This is more than the distance from Copenhagen, Denmark to Perth, Australia, via Cape Town, South Africa or almost half of the earth's circumference or almost three times the earth's radius

If all the Maersk Line containers were stacked on top of each other they would reach approximately 2,500 kilometres high, equivalent to stacking 8,550 Eiffel Towers on top of each other

In 2009, Maersk Line vessels made around 35,000 port calls - equivalent to approximately four port calls per hour or one call every 15 minutes 


Our vessels 
PS-type vessel capacity: about 14,770 TEU
G-type vessel capacity: about 7,000 TEU
S-type vessel capacity: about 6,600 TEU
M-type vessel capacity: about 6,500 TEU
K-type vessel capacity: about 6,000 TEU
PS-type reefer capacity: about 1,000 plugs
S and K-type reefer capacity: about 700 plugs
A PS-class vessel such as the EMMA MÆRSK can carry 14,770 full 20-foot containers. That equals a train 92 kilometers long.
The anchor of a PS-class vessel such as the EMMA MÆRSK weighs 29 tonnes, equivalent to five adult African elephants.
The main engine of a PS-class vessel such as the EMMA MÆRSK produces 109,000 horsepower, equal to that of 1,156 family cars.
Combined, the accommodation and bridge of a PS-class vessel are as high as a twelve-storey building.
PS-class vessels are equipped with a waste heat recovery system, saving up to ten percent of main engine power. That is equal to the average annual electrical consumption of 5,000 European households.
The ‘Triple-E’ vessels (Economy of scale, Efficiency, Environment) will set new standards for size, fuel and cost efficiency as well as reduction of CO2 emissions. The capacity of the new vessels is 18,000 TEU, exceeding the capacity of the world’s largest container vessels currently, Maersk Line’s PS-class vessels of 15,550 TEU. The vessels are scheduled for delivery between 2013-2015.

     www.cruise-ships-job.blogspot.com     MAERSK Line rewiev

Life at Sea

Life at Sea: don’t forget to look out the window

As I approached the end of my first trip at sea I looked back and laughed at the things I found noteworthy during those first weeks on board.

How to turn on the search lights, colour codes for the bins, operating the window wipers. Three months later, and having participated in all the watch permutations, my notes are more advanced. I’ve inspected PV Breakers, got to grips with the inert gas system, as well as learning how to let go of an anchor.

On my first ship, I learnt the basics of keeping a navigational watch and cargo work on board an oil tanker. During these early days, I discovered that the role of a third officer is an eclectic mix of navigation, cargo operations, mooring, taking on stores, safety drills, not to mention the maintenance of lifesaving appliances and compliance with international regulations. It’s an exciting and challenging position and I knew it was for me.

It’s interesting too, with a long history. It was during the first week of my second trip that I was reminded of the reason the Solas regulations were established. As we responded to a distress call from a sinking yacht, I thought of the Titanic whose calls for help went unanswered by a passing vessel nearly a century ago. In the yacht’s case, a closer vessel arrived and rescued the casualty and Falmouth Coastguard stood us down.

In the navigation sphere I learnt an important lesson. As I struggled to comprehend what the windfarm echoes observed on the radar could be, the comments of my navigation lecturer came flooding back: “Look out the bloody window.” This reinforced the importance of studying the charts and passage plan before departure.

I faced my claustrophobic fears during a confined space entry of the forward peak water ballast tanks. Although initially uncomfortable with the prospect of entering a space with no natural light or ventilation, I was reassured when the chief officer conducted pre-safety checks and gas readings.

So, my time at sea has included a little bit of everything. It has been a diverse mix of understanding COLREG rules, climbing around ballast tanks, as well as building up the skills and knowledge of good seamanship. In my opinion, anyone looking for a career with travel, variety and early responsibility can’t go wrong with the merchant navy.

     www.cruise-ships-job.blogspot.com     Life at Sea - don`t forget to look out the window

Farr 38/40

No discussion of a Farr boat can avoid some discussion on Bruce Farr (O.B.E.) himself. Certainly I am out of my depth, and at a loss for words, when it comes to discussing this great man, clearly one of the most successful designers of performance yachts ever.

Born in Auckland in 1949, Bruce was an accomplished and keen Dinghy sailor. By his late teens he was designing and building very fast dinghies. By his early 20s he had a number of fast and light keelboats to his name. The Farr 38/40 reviewed here was drawn in 1978 - Bruce will have been 29 years of age.

A quick glance at the design list on www.farrdesign.com left me in a slight state of shock. There are literally hundreds of designs (I didn't have time to count them all) - but so many big name boats I hadn't known were his. For example Ceramco (early Whitbread maxi), the new Farr 40s, Transpac 52s, Mumm 36s, some of the super Maxis eg Mirabella and the big Wallys, many of the lead Volvo 70s, half a doxen Open 60s and Whitbread 60s - it goes on and on and on). Did I mention the America's Cup yacht KZ-1, many of the recent Bavarias and Beneteaus? Anyway, the Farr 38/40 sits right in the middle of the list as a small "performance cruiser" if you don't mind! I had a good chuckle when I read the brochure, describing this as unashamedly a cruiser! 
See http://www.farrdesign.com/pdfs/172brochure.pdf if you don't believe me! Its an instructive read. Felt like I was laughing in church! Where I come from this is quite a mean machine. They go like hell, are capable of winning anything in our club classes and occasionally even line-honours amongst some large modern thoroughbreds. The local Farr 38/40 "Al" has been well campaigned and just proves the performance credentials of this design. As for a cruiser? - well think of taking the family on holiday in a four-seater Ferrari, instead of the Volvo this year. 

 HBYC's Faraway in fresh conditions off Hout Bay beach.

HBYC's Faraway in light conditions under Chapmans Peak.

Farr 38/40 Sailplan and Layout. Click for fullsize.

As a designer, Farr stands out as someone who really made the case for light boats, and safe, seaworthy, light boats at that. The yachting world was really quite shocked when his designs first appeared - refusing to believe that such relatively light boats could be seaworthy. I wouldn't say he was the first - even van der Stadt was doing this - but nobody popularised the case better than Farr. The other thing Farr seems to excel in is optimising the proprtions and dimensions of a boat for a given race or task. Ceramco (68') was such a yacht - skippered by Sir Peter Blake in the 81/82 RTW Whitbread Race. It weighed about 2/3 that of its main competitor, Flyer-2 76' (S&S, Conny van Rietschoten), yet they sailed almost within sight of each other around the world. But for an unfortunate dismasting on the last leg I think, Ceramco would have clearly won . . .

Farr 38 /40 Hull Profile. Note the bulb keel, deep high aspect spade rudder,

and the 2' sugar scoop on this one.

Back to the Farr 38/40. Unlike many of the others in this blog, Bruce Farr is not a South African designer (we make a very special case for Kiwis though!). However this design has been very popular here, as a very good offshore-racer, club-racer and class-racer. They are seldom campaigned under IRC as the ratings are just too punitive -  as this class was designed in a conscious departure from any rating systems.

You will note this class is often referred to as the Farr 38 (40) class. The original design is for a 38 footer, and the 40s have an extended sugar-scoop stern - presumably for downwind racing. The example I am most familiar with - viz. HBYC's "Faraway" has recorded consistent speeds at around 17 knots for extended periods on the Cape to Rio race - so clearly they can plane well. Notably, this boat was rolled 360 degrees by a large breaking wave near Saldnaha Bay on the return from Rio - it righted promptly, with only a broken vang, and a fair bit of mess down below!

"Faraway" - above - has tiller steering, running backstays, the sugar scoop extension, no lazy-jacks, and generally no roller furling. In my humble opinion, she is dam hard work, and the owner skipper - Chris Sutton, a hardy and wild old 72-year old (also our ever popular Commodore) show no sign of repenting on these matters, as long as he can muster 6-8 crew! This is not a good example for shorthanding, and single-handing is totally unthinkable. In truth - this is not actually what Farr intended. With suitable rigging, she would be dead easy to sail shorthanded, as indeed some are. She also sails beautifully under main alone. I am not sure whether she was originall drawn with a tiller or a wheel - both examples are common here - but certainly the tiller is great, and she sails like a dream. In the rough conditions around Cape Town (not to mention Hout Bay's own horrific squalls), she is safe and quite forgiving, and always fast. In light airs she is also very impressive. This truly is a safe all-weather boat. The cockpit is ample and well suited to a busy racing crew, while also nice for cruising. The open stern and sugar scoop make boarding exceptionall easy. The accommodations are really basic on this example, but in many cases are very comfortable and well fitted below. Not huge for a 38 footer below - but certainly acceptable for a long downwind race.  . . .

This is Hocus-Pocus - also at Hout bay - a very clean example with

wheel steering and a single backstay. This is also predominantly

a racer, so no lazy-kacks and roller furling either.

Clean deck lines on Hocus-Pocus.

Design Specifications
	LOA: DWL: Beam: Draft: Displ: Ballast:	11.66 m/38'3" 9.50 m/31'2" 3.66 m/12' 1.94 m/6'4" 4800 Kg/10600 Lbs 1850 Kg/4100 Lbs

Farr's own commentary, per their website:
Design #72 Farr 11.6/38
November 1981
The Farr 11.6 metre (38 ft) fast cruising sloop continues to gain popularity around the world. At present there are 85 boats sailing in 8 countries. Designed in 1978, the yacht was inspired by a trend away from the IOR Rule restrictions towards a 'pure' design concept to produce a fast, comfortable, easily handled and relatively economical yacht. Changes to the IOR Rule in 1977 and 78 were obsoleting yachts the year following their launching as well as distorting hull shapes. It was time to look toward the one-design concept that offered security of invenstment and pleasureable sailing.
The Farr 11.6 metre has achieved these aims. It does not rate very favourably under IOR - but it was never intended to. It is simply a very fast cruising boat but will race boat for boat with the best of the 2 tonners. In general terms, the style is for a light (ish) displacement hull form, moderate beam by modern standards with powerful sections, a wide stern and fin bow. The powerful hull coupled with a good percentage of ballast set low in a high aspect keel with fine bow sections makes the boat stiff and ensures excellent performances to windward (particularly in rough water).
This rig is non-masthead swept spreader arrangement with no complicated runners. It has easy to handle headsails and a mainsail large enough to drive the boat by itself for 'nonchalant' cruising. The boat has a high sail area-to-displacement ratio to ensure downwind speed.
The interior design is definitely cruising oriented. It features wide safe companionway steps, 2 or 3 double berths, big galley with fridge and freezer, separate navigation area, separate head and shower. There is an abundance of storage space in the main cabin area and in the wide stern. The boat can cater comfortable for up to 9 people.
Initially the boat was designed for 2 Auckland yachtsmen who previously had owned and competitively sailed one of Bruce Farr's first cruising yachts, and who wanted a fast cruiser/racer to compete in 2nd division Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron series. The first wooden boat, GOLDEN EAGLE, was launched in January 1979. By that time some 16 wooden boat plans had been sold and production for a one-design class yacht was underway in New Zealand and Australia, the first glass boat being launched in Auckland in August 1979. The Farr 11.6 metre was adopted by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron as a class for one design racing. Hightly competitive racing has developed in New Zealand and Australia with yachtsmen crossing the Tasman to compete in events. Owners Associations formed in both countries control class restrictions and racing.