Uasc News

German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd announced Joerg Sonne will become Senior Managing Director Region North Europe, succeeding Martin Rolf, who will take over the position of Managing Director Human Resources.Sonne joined Hapag-Lloyd as a result of the merger with UASC and successfully led Area Arabian Gulf from 2017 to 2022. For the last eight months, he has served as Managing Director Area Germany & Central Europe. He will be based in Hapag-Lloyd’s headquarters in Hamburg.“In recent years…

Classification society DNV announced Tony Linden will step into the role of Area Manager for the UK & Ireland effective Thursday, having recently been appointed as Business Development Manager for the same area.“I am delighted to congratulate Tony on his appointment. His enterprising background, technical know-how and clear understanding of the complex challenges facing the shipping industry will make him an invaluable asset to the market,” said Torgeir Sterri, DNV Maritime Regional…

Tougher rules on sulphur emissions from ships set by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) from January burden the profit outlook for Germany's container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd this year after a good 2019, its chief executive said."This will make it difficult for us to achieve a better (2020) result," Rolf Habben Jansen told reporters in Hamburg in comments on the ban on ships using a sulphur content above 0.5% on risk of fines, which is shaking up oil and shipping.But with above-market growth rates in transport volumes in 2019…

Hapag-Lloyd AG appointed Mark Frese to the Executive Board effective November 25, 2019. On March 1, 2020, he will become the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), replacing Nicolás Burr.Mark Frese (55) was most recently employed as the Chief Financial Officer of Ceconomy AG, the former Metro AG. Before that, he held various management positions at Metro AG and Kaufhof Holding AG.“When Mark Frese joins us, we will be gaining a very accomplished and highly skilled expert with extensive experience and knowledge of the financial sector. The Supervisory Board is convinced that, in its new composition, the Executive Board will remain excellently positioned to lead Hapag-Lloyd to continued future success…

German cargo container shipping line, Hapag-Lloyd AG, officially opened its headquarter for the new region.CEO Rolf Habben Jansen presented the keys of the office complex in Genoa (Italy) to the new Senior Managing Director Juan Pablo Richards.During the opening event, Habben Jansen explained the motivation to create a new region: “After our merger with UASC in 2017 the Mediterranean region has gained more importance for us. That's why we are eager to bolster our competitive position in this attractive and growing market and exploit further opportunities.”The new region was created by splitting the former Region Europe into northern and southern parts.

"With the conversion of SAJIR, we are the first shipping company worldwide to convert a container vessel of this size to natural gas propulsion."  Richard von Berlepsch, Managing Director Fleet Management at Hapag-LloydIn its more than 170 years of existence, the Hamburg-based Hapag Lloyd  has used all kinds of solid and liquid fuels to generate energy for the propulsion of its ships. And now the shipping company has announced that it intends to convert the propulsion system of its 15…

Hapag-Lloyd is optimistic about the year ahead, despite global trade tensions, the German container shipping company's chief executive said on Thursday after a first quarter earnings rise."Despite all the uncertainty, we see a somewhat stable development," Rolf Habben Jansen told Reuters, adding that trade wars have so far had a limited effect on Hapag Lloyd's business.U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that China had broken the terms of a trade deal, adding he would…

Marshall Islands-incorporated  containership charter owner Global Ship Lease (GSL) has agreed a three-year charter with Hapag-Lloyd for the 2015-built, 9,115 TEU containership UASC Al Khor.The new charter is in direct continuation of the current charter and is expected to commence in June, 2019, with re-delivery in the second quarter 2022, said the owner of containerships with a diversified fleet of mid-sized and smaller containerships.The charter is expected to generate approximately $28 million of Adjusted EBITDA.Ian Webber, Chief Executive Officer of Global Ship Lease, stated, “We are pleased to announce another longer-term charter of one of our modern…

Full-year operating profit up by 32 percent.Container shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd said volume growth and a modest recovery in freight rates in the second half of 2018 helped push operating profit 32 percent higher, lifting shares in the German group on Monday.Hapag-Lloyd said preliminary earnings showed operating profit before interest and tax (EBIT) rose 32 percent to 443 million euros ($502.81 million) in 2018, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 83 percent to 1.138 million euros.

The international rating agency Moody’s has upgraded the German cargo container shipping line, Hapag-Lloyd AG's corporate family rating (CFR) to B1 from B2 and its senior unsecured bond rating to B3 from Caa1. The outlook remains stable.According to Moody's release, the improved rating acknowledges Hapag-Lloyd’s progress in integrating United Arab Shipping Company Limited (UASC) while reducing leverage and generating positive free cash flow on the back of tight cost management and increased efficiencies, Moody’s concluded in its press release published today.The rating upgrade reflects Hapag-Lloyd´s ability to achieve the level of expected…

UK-based containership lessor Global Ship Lease (GSL) has agreed five-year charters with CMA CGM for the 2015-built, 6,882 TEU containerships UASC Bubiyan and UASC Yas.The containership charter owner said in a release that the new charters, which are in addition to the four similar charters announced on November 9, 2018, will commence upon the expiry of the current charters during the second quarter of 2019, are for a period of five years and are at a rate of $25,910 per day, up from $20,000 per day under the current charters.Ian Webber, Chief Executive Officer of Global Ship Lease, stated, "These new long-term charters with CMA CGM demonstrate the clear market demand for the modern…

German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd AG more than doubled its bottom line in the third quarter compared to the same period last year on account of booking lower interest costs.The container carrier said in a press release that it made a net profit of 112.4 million euros ($128.5 million) in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with EUR51.6 million a year earlier, on revenue that rose 8.6% to EUR3.04 billion.Hapag-Lloyd has concluded the third quarter 2018 with higher earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of EUR 212.1 million (Q3 2017: EUR 178.1 million).Meanwhile, in the first nine months of 2018, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to EUR 813.7 million (9M 2017: EUR 722.8 million).After the first nine months of the year…

Hapag-Lloyd's 15,000 TEU ship "Al Jmeliyah" was officially christened in Rotterdam. Naming patron is Inge Sijbesma, the wife of Feike Sijbesma, CEO of the corporation DSM – one of Hapag-Lloyd’s biggest customers in the Netherlands.The name “Al Jmeliyah” is Arabic for “the beautiful one.” With its ten sister vessels, the “Al Jmeliyah” numbers among the so-called “Ultra Large Container Vessels” in Hapag-Lloyd’s fleet.However, this was not the first time that Hapag-Lloyd has christened a ship in Rotterdam. The most recent one was the christening of the “Rotterdam Express” in 2000. “With its 4,890 TEU, it was enormous for the time,” said Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen. “Less than 20 years later, we are christening a ship here that is three times as big.

The the first half year 2018 net loss of Germany's Hapag-Lloyd is more than doubled to UER 100.9 million ($116 million) from EUR 42.7 million (USD 49 million) a year ago.The shipper attributed this loss to rising fuel costs and the slow recovery in freight rates diluted the synergies from the German ocean carrier’s merger with United Arab Shipping Company."The first half of 2018 was shaped by clearly increasing fuel costs, higher charter rates and a slower than expected recovery of freight rates. In response to that, we have implemented additional measures to recover these costs: we are critically reviewing the economic viability of our ship systems and are further optimising our terminal contracts…

German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd reported a higher net profit and operating result in the first quarter of 2018 on Monday, citing better transport volumes, but said earnings improvements would mostly be made in the second half."We have had a solid start into the current year, but the market environment is challenging," Chief Executive Rolf Habben Jansen said."Freight rates have been under pressure, bunker costs and trucking costs in some important markets were up and we faced a weaker U.S.

Hapag-Lloyd has completed the first quarter 2018 with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of EUR 219.4 million, which is an increase compared to the first quarter of the previous year (EUR 135.3 million). The operating result before interest and taxes (EBIT) stood at EUR 53.7 million after three months (first quarter 2017: EUR 7.5 million). The group net result amounted to EUR -34.3 million and thereby EUR 23.8 million over the quarterly result of the previous year (EUR -58.1 million). The figures of the first quarter 2018 include United Arab Shipping Company Ltd. (UASC) and can therefore only be compared to a limited extent with the figures of the first quarter 2017 (without UASC).

It took British Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani just one go to activate the mechanism that sent a big champagne bottle crashing against the massive sidewall of the “Afif”. This marked the official naming of the 15,000 TEU container ship on 16 July 2018. The name “Afif” is of Arabic origin and means “purity” and “honesty”; also, Afif is a city in central Saudi Arabia. The ship is technically equipped to use LNG fuel. With its ten sisters, “Afif” belongs to the category of “Ultra Large Container Vessel”, the second-largest ship class in Hapag-Lloyd’s fleet. “It is an honour to name Afif, Hapag-Lloyd’s latest container ship, as it will have a vital role in the growth of the UK economy by moving our exports and imports,” said Nusrat Ghani.

German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd is cutting costs to cope with a rise in fuel prices that led it to slash full year earnings forecasts last month, its chief executive told shareholders on Tuesday."Major cost positions have risen more than initially expected and are pressuring operating margins," CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said in Hamburg."We are responding short-term to this development through forceful cost management and will keep Hapag-Lloyd competitive this way," he added.Among the measures being taken are accepting more valuable cargo…

Dubai-based shipowner United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) has filed suit against Miami-based marine fuels provider World Fuels Services (WFS) seeking relief from damages incurred through the bunkering of off-spec fuel oil in 2016, reports Arabian Industry.UASC is seeking relief from damages incurred through the bunkering of the off-spec fuel oil, according to the suit filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on 27 June, 2018.The Middle East shipping giant claims that on or about 21 September 2016, it entered into contract with WFS for delivery of 3,500-4,200 tons of high-sulphur 380cst bunker fuel for containership UASC JILFAR in the port of Kavkaz…

Full-year operating profit up by 226 percent; full figures, guidance due on March 28. German container shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd on Wednesday reported its 2017 operating profit more than tripled, citing higher transport volumes and a slight recovery in freight rates. It also said that besides a positive development of worldwide container transport demand and rising revenue from freights, last year's merger with Gulf peer UASC provided more efficiencies. The move made Hamburg-based Hapag-Lloyd the number five container shipper worldwide, amid ongoing consolidation. Operating profit before interest and tax (EBIT) rose to 411 million euros ($502 million) from 126 million the year earlier, the company said in a statement detailing preliminary results.

German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd on Wednesday said it expected to improve earnings this year thanks to synergies from the merger with Gulf peer UASC and rising transport volumes.   Operating profit (EBITDA) will post a clear rise in 2018 after nearly doubling to 1.06 billion euros ($1.31 billion) in 2017, Hapag-Lloyd said, even as freight rates remain flat due to the merger with UASC.   Reporting by Maria Sheahan and Vera Eckert

Container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd announced a surprise dividend to shareholders on Wednesday and forecast a rise in annual earnings this year thanks to synergies from its merger with Gulf peer UASC. Hapag-Lloyd merged with UASC last year, becoming the world's No. 5 container shipper after overcapacity, price wars and freight rates far below break-even levels fanned industry consolidation. The German group said it would pay its shareholders 0.57 euro per share for 2017 - its…

Thorsten Haeser has quit as chief commercial officer of Hapag-Lloyd, which has reorganised its executive Board. CCO Thorsten Haeser is leaving the Company as at 31 March 2018 on the most amicable of terms. With great professionalism and personal dedication, he managed and realigned the Executive Board’s sales responsibilities. Following the merger with container liner shipping company United Arab Shipping Company (UASC), Haeser played a key part in the smooth integration of UASC’s business into Hapag-Lloyd AG. Haeser was also instrumental in advancing the digitalisation of the Company. Overall, he made a significant contribution to ensuring the future viability and competitiveness of Hapag-Lloyd.