Maersk invests $400 million in U.S.-flag fleet

Maersk invests $400 million in U.S.-flag fleet    A.P. Moller – Maersk's U.S.-flag arm said it has invested nearly $400 million for the purchase and reflagging of nine ships into the U.S. registry to replace older tonnage.
   Maersk Line Ltd. said the plan involved removing nine older, smaller ships from its U.S. fleet and replacing them with larger, faster and more modern U.S.-flag tonnage. All nine of the reflagged ships are enrolled in the Maritime Security Program.
   “This additional capacity and capability, paired with the optimization and expansion of our U.S.-flag network, will enable us to provide even more reliable, timely and flexible service to our government customers,” said Bill Kenwell, Maersk Line’s chief commercial officer.
   The ships joining Maersk Line’s fleet will be deployed on two Maersk services to the Middle East, as well as on the transatlantic.
   The new ships are the Maersk Kentucky, Maersk Idaho, Maersk Utah, Maersk Wisconsin, Maersk Wyoming, Sealand Champion, Sealand Egle, Sealand Mercury and Sealand Racer.
   The new ships have average capacity of more than 4,000 TEUs and an average age of just 10 years, the company said, while the nine ships they replace had an average capacity of only 3,400 TEUs and an average age of 23 years.
   Maersk Line said its technical organization and its Maritime Technical Services business unit are managing the sale and recycling of the nine older U.S.-flag ships.