Maersk Group

Main article: Container transportation

Maersk Group is an integrated multi-brand transport and logistics Danish company that is a world leader in maritime container shipping and port services.

Aktivs

Taking into account a separate power unit, its staff is 88,000 employees working in 130 countries of the world, including in Russia (data for 2016). Maersk Line is the largest brand, accounting for 40% of the group's revenue.

The group's companies include:

• Maersk Container Industry
• Maersk Medical

Performance indicators

2022: Loss of more than $700 million due to withdrawal from Russia

On May 4, 2022, Maersk announced that in the first quarter, the Danish logistics company lost more than 5 billion crowns (about $700 million) due to withdrawal from the Russian market.

The indicator of profit before interest and taxes (EBIT) in the terminal business segment in the first quarter of 2022 turned out to be negative, instead of profit Maersk received a loss of $73 million, which is associated with a write-off of $485 million of the company's assets in Global Ports Investments (the largest container terminal operator in Russia). In the Logistics and Services sector, EBIT amounted to $183 million, and the company estimated the negative impact of the situation around Ukraine at $53 million.

Maersk lost more than $700 million in the first quarter alone due to leaving Russia

Maersk, which accounts for about a sixth of all container shipments in the world by May 2022, previously halted all operations in Russia and will now try to sell its assets in Russian ports, including a warehouse, refrigeration room and terminal.

We are in talks with a few players but it is a difficult situation. We must also take into account the current sanctions, and I suspect that this will take time, - commented on the plans to sell the head of the carrier Søren Skou.

The company hoped to complete ship accidents in the Russian Federation and operations with Russian containers by the end of April 2022. Maersk completed its last cargo operation at a Russian port on May 2, the company said in a statement.

Maersk also intends to complete operations and go out of business in the logistics segment. We are talking about a warehouse complex for the processing of refrigerated containers in St. Petersburg and a port container terminal in Novorossiysk.

Operations at these warehouse complexes will continue until a solution is found, according to reports published on May 4, 2022.[1]

2021: Record profits in Danish history

According to the forecast of September 2021, A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S is on track for the largest profit in Danish history: net profit will reach about $16.2 billion in 2021.

A combination of several extreme factors - including bottlenecks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic - increases revenues for the world's largest shipping line. The company raised its financial outlook for the third time in the past five months.

Maersk's result in 2021 will be a record in the history of Danish companies. It will be about three times higher than Maersk's previous record in 2014 and more than double the result of Novo Nordisk, Denmark's most valuable company, in 2020.

History

2023

Suspension of liquidation of business in Russia

Maersk stopped the liquidation of Russian business in 2023. This became known in early May 2024 from the accounting statements of subsidiaries of the logistics group in the Russian Federation.

As RBC writes with reference to these materials, the liquidation process was stopped by the decision of the founding structures of the parent company - in relation to Maersk, this happened in June 2023, in Maersk Solutions LLC - in September 2023.

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It also follows from the report that in February 2024, Maersk received an additional 20 million rubles as an additional contribution to the company's property. With an average annual number of employees in both companies for 2023, one person each, at the end of November 2023 and in January 2024, both LLCs extended the lease of their offices in Moscow and St. Petersburg for another 11 months.

The publication of the publication says that Maersk conducted operating activities in Russia, including through Maersk Solutions LLC and Maersk LLC. In the fall of 2022, legal procedures began to liquidate both LLCs, but in 2023 they were stopped.

In its report, Maersk Solutions pointed out that the geopolitical situation in 2023 continued to "remain tense."

In connection with the imposed sanctions and restrictions on the work of foreign logistics organizations, many Russian logistics companies have appeared on the Russian market, thus, there is a risk of unclaimed services provided by LLC, the document says.

The company also noted "uncertainty that may cause significant doubts about the company's ability to continue its activities continuously," but noted that "it has sufficient funds in its accounts to continue its activities."^[2]

Houthi attacks on company ship in Red Sea

The Maersk Hangzhou vessel reported that at December 30, 2023 at 20:30 Sanaa time, a rocket hit it. The US said it allegedly shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis after a Singapore-flagged container ship owned by Denmark asked for help.

On December 31, 2023 United States announced that at 6:30 am Sana'a received a second distress signal from the Maersk Hangzhou container ship in the Red Sea in the last 24 hours, and their helicopters were fired upon by the Houthis as they provided assistance.

Navy helicopters responded with an attack that sank three boats and killed rebels, U.S. Central Command said in a post on the X website.

Reduction of more than 10 thousand jobs due to lower demand

AP Møller -Maersk said Nov. 3, 2023, that it plans to cut at least 10,000 jobs as the container industry boom caused by the COVID-19 pandemic gives way to lower demand and excess capacity.

Maersk sold logistics business in Russia with the right to buy back

On February 20, 2023, it was announced that AP Moller-Maersk (Maersk) had entered into an agreement to sell its logistics sites in St. Petersburg and Novorossiysk to IG Finance Development Limited.

A. P. Moeller - Maersk included in the contract a clause on the right to subsequently buy out the sold sites. Thus, Maersk retained the possibility of returning to the Russian market, the [1] Danish newspaper Borsen reported.

Maersk left the logistics segment in the Russian Federation

We are glad that we have found a new owner of our two logistics sites in Russia and thereby implement our decision to sell all our assets in the country. Throughout the sale process, we as a company felt a great responsibility to the remaining 50 employees at the two sites, and we are pleased that they will be offered employment under the new structure, "said Karsten Kildal, Chief Commercial Officer of Maersk.

The internal warehouse in Novorossiysk is an object with an area of ​ ​ 28,750 square meters. m with a capacity of 1,500 TEU containers and specializes in processing commercial cargo, such as grain, from railway cars to sea containers. The warehouse of chilled and frozen products St. Petersburg in an area of ​ ​ 23,500 square meters. m opened in 2020.

The deal received the necessary regulatory approvals in the EU and Russia, and after acquiring the facilities, IG Finance Development Limited entered into an agreement with Arosa, a major food importer in Russia, to manage the facilities in St. Petersburg and Novorossiysk.

It is noted that since no additional permits are required, the sale has been completed and comes into force on February 17, 2023. Its participants did not disclose the financial terms of the transaction.^[3]

2022

Decision to liquidate a subsidiary in Russia

In November 2022, the Danish maritime container carrier A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S (Maersk) decided to liquidate its Russian subsidiary MAERSK LLC.

Maersk sells 30.75% in Global Ports to Sergey Shishkarev's Delo group

In August 2022, the Danish Maersk agreed to sell its last and largest asset in Russia - a 30.75% stake in Global Ports - to Sergei Shishkarev's Delo group.

Plan for leaving Russia and exporting 50 thousand containers from the country

In August 2022, it became known that Maersk plans to leave Russia. All cargo flights have already been discontinued. The company plans to take out 50,000 of its containers in a month.

Suspension of work in Russia against the background of a special operation of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine

On March 1, 2022, it became known that against the background of a special operation Russia on To Ukraine Maersk, it temporarily stops accepting new orders for transportation by sea and land Russia to and from Russia.

Just less than half of the world's container ships have suspended work with Russia, which could lead to trade shocks for everything from food and metals to clothing and electronic goods.

In addition to A.P Moller-Maersk A/S, they also said that they were ceasing trade in the region of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co., Hapag-Lloyd AG and Asian Ocean Network Express Pte.

Maersk handles some cargoes for aluminum giant United Co. Rusal International PJSC, and the suspension poses a risk to its export. Some shippers have already refused to carry Russian goods such as nickel, but the impact on volumes has so far been negligible.

Maersk, MSC, Hapag-Lloyd and One Network account for about 47% of global container capacity, according to Alphaliner. Russian exports and imports of container cargo account for about 3% of the world's volume.

Launch of the electric ship charging facility Stillstrom

On January 25, 2022, Maersk announced the launch of an electric ship charging facility that will help reduce emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere. The new company is called Stillstrom, which means "quiet energy" in Danish. Read more here.

Plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040

A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, one of the world's largest oil consumers, is ramping up plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions after environmentally friendly alternatives were found to refuel ships.

The container giant said it would achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral in 2040, 10 years earlier than planned, a target that will now cover indirect, so-called emissions 2 and 3, as well as CO2.

The shipping giant is expanding plans as "green" fuels become viable. Chief Executive Officer Soren Skow said the shipping industry could afford a switch to methanol or ammonia-powered vessels, which was estimated to increase transport costs by 10% to 12%.

2021

Mediterranean Shipping Company beats Maersk in container market

At the end of 2021, the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) removed Maersk from the position of the world's largest shipping line in terms of container capacity, according to data from the analytical company Alphaliner, released in early January 2022. The Mediterranean Shipping Company surpassed one key metric: the number of containers it can transport on ships it owns and chartered. Read more here.

Purchase of Hong Kong warehouse operator LF Logistics for $3.6 billion

In December 2021, A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S agreed to the second largest takeover in its history, buying the Asian warehouse giant, Hong Kong-based LF Logistics for $3.6 billion.

This deal is second only to its takeover of Hamburg Sued for $4 billion dollars in 2017.

Maersk, which carries about a fifth of the world's containers by sea, is pursuing a new expansion strategy in land logistics, where there is more potential for growth.

Earlier this year, the Copenhagen-based carrier also announced plans to buy airline carrier Senator International as it seeks a presence in all links of the transport chain.

$1.08 billion sale of Maersk Container Industry refrigerated container production

At the end of September 2021, China International Marine Containers (CIMC) announced that it would acquire Danish refrigerated container manufacturer Maersk Container Industry ( MCI) and its entire stake in Maersk China for about $1.08 billion. Read more here.

Launching containers via Russia from Southeast Asia to Turkey, bypassing the Suez Canal

In May 2021, Maersk, the largest international container carrier, launched containers on a new transit route through Russia from Southeast Asia to Turkey, bypassing the Suez Canal.

The total delivery time on the new route is 25-30 days (including 12 days by rail), while the route through the Suez Canal takes 40-45 days.

2020: Cooperation with Russian Railways for the joint development of blockchain projects

On October 22, 2020, Russian Railways and Maersk agreed on the joint development of blockchain projects. The companies have entered into an agreement on cooperation in the development of digital services for transportation using this technology. The partnership document was signed by the deputy head of Russian Railways Alexei Shilo and the general director of Maersk LLC Zholt Katona. Read more here.

2019: Maersk information security director talks about lessons the company learned after ransomware virus attacks

At the end IB-director of April 2019, Maersk Lewis Woodcock spoke at a conference organized by the National Center and cyber security Great Britain spoke about the lessons learned after the events of June 27, 2017, when the company became a victim. virus extortioner NotPetya

Woodcock noted that the possibilities of restoring the system are no less important than protecting it. Organizations must ensure that they understand the core business processes, systems, and applications involved in their work. It is not always possible to prevent an attack, and in such cases the main thing is to be able to restore everything that is possible as soon as possible.

Maersk learned lessons after NotPetya attack

Another important lesson is that the consequences of a non-targeted cyber attack can be no less devastating than targeted, so they should not be discounted. Maersk was not the target of the NotPetya ransomware virus, however, along with many other international companies, it suffered huge damage. "Think big," advises Woodcock.

The cybersecurity system is always a compromise between security and cost, and the choice depends on the nature of the threat and the criticality of the services used. For this reason, it is critical for organizations to have a framework that enables key cybersecurity decision makers as well as a response plan in the event of a cyberattack. In critical situations, all units must act together and understand the overall work plan.

As for cybersecurity strategy, organizations need to take an in-depth security approach, that is, implementing more powerful and tiered security mechanisms to protect critical information - for example, customer data. In addition, experts recommend immediately reporting a cyber attack - this will attract all interested parties and help quickly identify changed data.^[4]

2018: Building a blockchain platform with IBM

On January 16, 2018, the Maersk and IBM company announced the creation of a joint venture (JV), which will develop the world's first blockchain platform for organizing cargo transportation. The technology will allow the use of digital supply chains and track the movement of cargo around the world in real time. Read more here.

2017: Losses from the Petya virus

On August 16, 2017, A.P. Moller-Maersk named the approximate amount of damage from a cyber attack using the Petya virus, which, as noted in a European company, was infected through a Ukrainian program.

In its financial report for the second quarter of 2017, Maersk reported that three subsidiaries were involved in the hacker attack: Maersk Line, a container terminal operator APM Terminals, and Damco, a logistics company.

Maersk estimates damage from Petya cyber attack at $300 million

The first to suffer were computers that installed Ukrainian electronic document management software M.E.Doc. IT administrators did not have time to disconnect infected systems from the network in time, as a result of which the malicious element spread to a large number of computer systems. At the same time, Maersk claims that during the cyber attack, the company controlled container ships at sea and none of the employees were injured.

While this cyber attack has had a significant impact on business, there has been no loss or leak of data to third parties, the Danish shipping giant said in a statement cited by news agency Bloomberg.

The virus penetrated the Maersk computer systems and remained there back in July, so there will be losses from the incident in the third quarter. Moreover, losses in July-September are expected to be even larger compared to the previous three-month period.

According to Maersk's preliminary calculations, financial losses from the actions of the Petya ransomware in the second quarter of 2017 ranged from $200 to $300 million.

As noted in the company, the forecast for annual revenues remained unchanged, despite the great damage from cybercriminals, since the situation in the container transportation market has improved.^[5]

1904: Founding of the "Swendborg Steamboat Company"

April 10, 1904 Captain Peter Mersk Möller (dates. Peter Mærsk Møller) and his son Arnold Peter Möller (date. Arnold Peter Møller) founded a company called Aktieselskabet Dampskibsselskabet Svendborg (Svendborg Steamboat Company). The company's first vessel was the 2,200-ton Svendborg cargo steamer. By the end of the decade, their fleet consisted of 6 ships.

Notes