Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and visiting Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, on 26th February in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, witnessed the signing by the Danish A.P. Moller - Maersk Group of contracts with Dalian New Shipbuilding and Guangzhou Shipyard International firming up orders to build four vessels for the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group’s fleet of product tankers. With the signing of these contracts, the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group has since 1996 ordered 51 large ocean going vessels from Chinese shipyards, representing a value exceeding USD 1.5 billion, making the Group the largest foreign buyer of vessels build in China.


Mr. Tom Behrens-Sorensen, Chief Executive of the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group in the Greater China Area, said "the past 12 months have been a landmark period for our Group in China. Our Group’s container shipping company, Maersk Sealand, has significantly strengthened its product offering to China’s foreign trade, and contracts have been signed for significant investments in marine terminals in Shanghai and Qingdao by APM Terminals, a leading global container terminal operator also owned by the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group. These latest four vessel contracts crown a long list of achievements that has seen the ties between China and our Group grow even deeper." Mr. Behrens-Sorensen concluded, "That we are today celebrating the signing of the contract for the 50th large ocean going vessels ordered in such a short span of years bears witness to the competitiveness and high technical level Chinese shipbuilding has reached in recent years."

The A.P. Moller - Maersk Group has its head quarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Group comprises the globally leading companies Maersk Sealand, Maersk Logistics, APM Terminals and Maersk Tankers as well as divisions within oil and gas exploration and production, retail, aviation, shipbuilding, industry and IT services. The Group has been active in China for 80 years and has today 28 subsidiaries, associated or affiliated companies in the Greater China Area employing in excess of 5,000 associates. In addition to large ocean going vessels, the Group is a major purchaser in China of marine containers and merchandise for the Group’s supermarkets in Europe.


For further information, please contact:


Mr. Tom Behrens-Sorensen
Maersk (China) Shipping Co., Ltd.
Tel: +86 10 6505 7858
Fax: +86 10 6505 7848
Email: gcatop@maersk.com
www.apmoller-maersk.com