Maersk se desprende de los LNG

Todo no van a ser nuevas construcciones en el mercado, ahora Maersk se desprende de su división de metaneros, 8 barcos con menos de 10 años, algunos de los cuales están fletados a Rasgas. Veremos a ver quién se queda con el paquete...

MAERSK LNG UP FOR GRABS

Danish shipowner hangs a for sale sign on its gas carriers as it is not in a position to be a leader in the red hot market.

AP Moller-Maersk has placed its LNG shipping arm on the auction block despite it turning a profit in the first quarter of the year. Maersk's move to offload the business comes at a time when many of its rivals in the sector are splashing out on newbuildings.

Nils Andersen, CEO of AP Moller, said in a conference call: "We believe there will be demand for it and we are also not selling it unless we get a good price." He added: "We are willing to leave an area like LNG when we find we are not in a position to really make a difference for our customers or influence the industry due to small scale."

He would not be drawn on when the sale will be completed but did reveal the unit is expected to remain profitable for the remainder of the year due to a strong spot market.

Maersk entered the LNG shipping sector in 1975. Today it has eight LNG carriers in its fleet, all of which are under 10 years old. Maersk has been selling off non-core assets for some time. However, Andersen says it presently has no plans to exit any other shipping sectors.

LNG is presently enjoying a boom which has led to newbuilding orders in the first quarter swamping the figure seen in the previous three years. It has also spawned three IPOs with John Fredriksen's Golar LNG Partners floating on the Nasdaq and both Awilco and Hoegh LNG looking to list in Oslo.

Maersk today booked a forecast-shattering profit of over $1bn for the first quarter.

Fuente: Tradewinds