Container Shipping Biography
ZEEBRUGGE, Belgium—The new Marco Polo ship can load 16,000 containers and reach a speed of 24 knots. After a recent stop in this Belgian port city, however, she is cruising back to China at 14.
The Marco Polo's size and pace on the Europe-to-Asia route show an interesting dynamic at play in the container-shipping industry: Grappling with excess container capacity and declining shipping fares, companies such as CMA CGM of France, owner of the Marco Polo, and A.P. Møller Maersk A/S MAERSK-B.KO -1.48% of Denmark are racing to operate the biggest-possible ships so they can benefit from economies of scale, and run them at moderate speeds to save on fuel costs.
Slowing down ships, a technique known as slow steaming, doesn't only offer environmental benefits. It also allows operators to offset the additional capacity created by their bigger ships, because vessels chartered on a given route make fewer rotations. Analysts say the practice has helped avoid a complete collapse in shipping fares.
ZEEBRUGGE, Belgium—The new Marco Polo ship can load 16,000 containers and reach a speed of 24 knots. After a recent stop in this Belgian port city, however, she is cruising back to China at 14.
The Marco Polo's size and pace on the Europe-to-Asia route show an interesting dynamic at play in the container-shipping industry: Grappling with excess container capacity and declining shipping fares, companies such as CMA CGM of France, owner of the Marco Polo, and A.P. Møller Maersk A/S MAERSK-B.KO -1.48% of Denmark are racing to operate the biggest-possible ships so they can benefit from economies of scale, and run them at moderate speeds to save on fuel costs.
Slowing down ships, a technique known as slow steaming, doesn't only offer environmental benefits. It also allows operators to offset the additional capacity created by their bigger ships, because vessels chartered on a given route make fewer rotations. Analysts say the practice has helped avoid a complete collapse in shipping fares.
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