Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller, long-time head of the A.P. Møller -Maersk Group and son of the company’s founder, passed away at the age of 98, the company said Monday.
Møller led the company from 1965 to 1993 as chief executive and chairman, then continued as chairman through 2003. In that time, Maersk grew to become the largest liner shipping company in the world, aided by the development of dynamic new services, key acquisitions, and ever-larger ships.
“Will and energy marked Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller’s endeavors,” said Group CEO Nils Anderson, currently on medical leave as he recovers from heart valve surgery. “Vision, careful preparation and a never failing engagement minimized an often time not insignificant business risk. (He) was famous for his business talent and his visions and he supported initiatives which changed the company’s direction and influenced society, near and far.
“(He) made decisions on significant investments which has made the Group’s activities leading in the world within shipping and oil exploration.”
Møller became joint owner of the company Firmaet A.P. Møller in 1940, and assumed the role of director and chairman of the most important companies in the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group in 1965 after his father’s death.
“The A.P. Møller – Maersk Group has lost a businessman of international format and the man who, if any, can take credit for the Group being among the world’s leading and Denmark’s undisputed largest business with activities in a number of areas such as shipping, oil and retail,” said current group chairman Michael Pram Rasmussen, in a statement.
Møller was a pioneering icon in the industry, particularly as cargo shipping transitioned to containerization in the 1970s. He oversaw the growth of A.P. Møller -Maersk into a shipping titan and the largest employer in Denmark. Though initially sceptical of containerization, he later fervently adopted the concept.
Møller’s reign was punctuated by major milestones that also doubled as key historical markers in the development of container shipping.
“Maersk McKinney Møller must be credited with quite remarkable farsightedness and breathtaking scale of vision,” Francis Phillips, chief analyst for American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data, wrote in an August 2011 commentary on Maersk’s global operational strategy. “When containerization arrived on the liner shipping scene, he was not a pioneer by any means. Initially he even decided that pallet-load unitization was a better way to go.
“However, by the mid-1970s it became clear that a very distinctive new style of Maersk Line operation had arrived. He launched a weekly fixed-day service linking the U.S. East Coast to Japan via Panama, employing a loop of nine identical 27-knot steamers. Not long after his first container service began, the price of oil rose so sharply that most owners with similar steam turbine containerships slowed down. Maersk Line was conspicuous in keeping up 27 knots so as to maintain its top of the market ‘fixed-day weekly’ service reputation.”
Phillips also noted that the A.P. Møller – Maersk Group was unique in “designing and building a continuous stream of ever-larger new ships of all types at its own shipyard in Denmark. From very early on it was able to cascade its older containerships into new trades where Maersk Line proved a ferocious newcomer.”
Perhaps the company’s biggest splash came in 1999, when it acquired American competitor Sea-Land.
Former Sea-Land veteran Ken Johns said Møller’s conviction and determination stood out.
“I met him in the very early days, when containerizaton was just coming on the scene,” Johns said. “He was a very impressive leader at that time for Maersk. As the years went by, he became a legend. He’s done so much for this industry and made Maersk the world leader. I have a healthy respect and great admiration for him.” — Eric Johnson
Liner icon Møller passes away
