Maersk Line is born

Maersk Line is born    Following its 2.3 billion euros ($2.7 billion) acquisition of P&O Nedlloyd, A.P. Moller-Maersk Sunday formally commenced trading its enlarged container shipping business under the name Maersk Line.
   “The majority of P&O Nedlloyd vessels will be phased in during February 2006. The large majority of services will be in place by mid March, and by June 2006 the Maersk Line network will be fully implemented,” Maersk Line said.
   The takeover of P&O Nedlloyd cemented the Danish group’s dominant position as the world’s largest ocean carrier, boosting its containership fleet by slightly less than 500,000 TEUs to about 1.7 million TEUs, twice that of its nearest rival Mediterranean Shipping Co.
   At the same time, the activities of P&O Nedlloyd Logistics were absorbed into the existing Maersk Logistics.
   In 1999, Maersk acquired Sea-Land Service and decided to market the combined activities under a joint name, Maersk Sealand, to try to retain the former American shipping line’s image and customers.