Maersk takes stand on container flooring

Maersk takes stand on container flooring    Maersk Line said Monday it would refrain from purchasing containers with floors made of uncertified tropical hardwood.
   'Illegal logging is widely recognized as a serious threat to forests, people and wildlife. We feel obligated to use our purchasing power to push for higher standards and ensure that the timber we use for container floors come from responsible forestry,' said Jacob Sterling, head of climate and environment at Maersk Line.
   Traditionally, shipping lines have had their containers fitted with tropical hardwood floors. It takes two cubic meters of hardwood to produce floors for three 40-foot containers. Maersk said the container industry uses about 1.2 million to 1.5 million cubic meters of hardwood annually to meet demand for new containers.
   Maersk said as of January the containers it is buying have floors made of timber from sources employing responsible forestry practices or non-wood alternatives such as bamboo and recycled plastic.
   To date, Maersk Line has purchased 64,000 containers that comply with the new policy. Over the next five years, Maersk Line will purchase about 3 million TEUs of containers, more than doubling its current container fleet. A large percentage of the container fleet will therefore have new alternative floorboards within a relative short time span. Certified floors will be in all Maersk Line containers within 18 years, the typical lifetime of a container.
   Maersk Container Industry (MCI) in Dongguan, China produced its first FSC-labeled container for Maersk Line in April. The container is fitted with hardwood floor from certified responsible forestry.