This was claimed to be the best result for the tanker segment for several years, despite parent, AP Moller Maersk, returning a disastrous set of results amounting to a loss of $2.5 bill for the fourth quarter of last year.
Around $150 mill came from the product tanker sector, which Maersk Tankers chose to concentrate on a couple of years ago, following the sale of its VLCC fleet.
Increasing rates and results from its ‘Taking Lead Strategy’ led to the increase, the subsidiary said.
Maersk Tankers also reported a highly satisfying result of $160 mill ($132 mill in 2014) and a return on invested capital of 9.9% (6.8% in 2014).
It said that due to the difficulty in delivering satisfactory results for several years, because of the very low market, this resulted in the subsidiary choosing to focus on the product tanker market, through which the company said it expected to be able to achieve the best earnings in the long-term.
The focus on the product tanker market, as well as on improved earnings, was the basis of the ‘Taking Lead Strategy’, which was launched in the summer of 2014. Some $21 mill of the 2015 result was attributed to improvements achieved through this initiative.
The strategy comprised three main elements:
· Cost leadership - where the focus is on optimising costs connected to fleet operations/daily running costs.
· Active position taking - where Maersk Tankers will strengthen the planning of vessel positioning through increased data use, which will result in Maersk tankers having a greater chance of getting the most profitable cargoes.
· Third party services - an expansion of Maersk Tankers’ pools with more outside vessels.
Maersk Tanker has been active in the secondhand market recently and reportedly purchased two LR2s and two MRs in the past couple of weeks.
In another announcement, the Maersk Group said that with more vessels to recycle in the future, the current cost of sustainable ship recycling was not feasible.
The group said that it was determined to use its leverage to create more responsible recycling options and has embarked upon a commitment to help selected ship recycling yards in Alang to upgrade their facilities and practices to comply with the company’s standards.
“The Maersk Group’s policy is to only recycle ships responsibly. There has, however, been no change in practices in this area and today, responsible recycling is only feasible in a limited number of yards in China and Turkey,” said the Maersk Group’s head of sustainability, Annette Stube.
Currently, the estimated extra cost to the group of responsible recycling at existing yards is $1-2 mill per vessel.
“We want to play a role in ensuring that responsible recycling becomes a reality in Alang, India. To find sustainable solutions, we are working on building a broader coalition with other shipowners and have initiated engagement with a number of carefully selected yards in Alang. This includes improving local waste facilities and hospitals - and upgrading the housing conditions for the migrant workers in Alang,” Stube said.