Officers in The Maersk Company affected by global downturn

It is with regret that The Maersk Company announces today, due to the continuing global economic situation it has become necessary to seek volunteers for redundancy from the pool of officers employed by Maersk Offshore (Guernsey) and Maersk Offshore (Bermuda) currently working on board Maersk Line’s container vessels.

This has been a difficult decision to make and has been made in the light of the lay-ups of Maersk Line’s UK vessels and the fact that the fleet has been carrying surplus officers for many months in the hope of an early economic upturn within the container business industry, which has unfortunately not been forthcoming. Therefore the reluctant decision has been made to seek 113 volunteers for redundancy.

The Maersk Company has entered into a consultation period with affected employees and their union representatives to prepare a redundancy package.

Terry Cornick – Managing Director Maersk Company Shipping Division – comments: “The container business industry is going through a tough period and with Maersk Line vessels laid-up, we simply cannot sustain surplus crew within a reduced fleet. It’s not an easy decision to take, but it’s the right decision for the long-term future of our business.”

This measure is intended to improve the cost competitiveness of Maersk Line. The shipping industry is facing a challenging period as a result of the global economic crisis, and Maersk Line has to look at a wide range of options to cut costs.

There are approximately 560 British officers currently employed by Maersk.

At the same time, it has been decided that this year The Maersk Company will no longer automatically employ cadets graduating from training with the Company. Given the job losses amongst experienced officers, it is considered that it would be inappropriate to be taking on new employees at this time. This decision is intended to safeguard jobs for officers during the current economic conditions and will be reviewed as market conditions improve.

Maersk Line is the world’s largest container line and part of the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group, based in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Maersk Company Ltd is a UK based subsidiary of the Group. For the first six months of 2009 the Group’s container activities, including Maersk Line, had a loss of USD 958 million.