Deutsche Afrika Linien’s Eberhart von Rantzau has hinted at possible fleet expansion. “At present we are busy sounding out the vessel market and if the opportunity arises we will expand the fleet. The current market conditions seem especially favourable,” said Von Rantzau in the group’s latest in-house magazine. It’s one of the few positive opportunities as the industry counts the cost of the recession. “Although the downturn in the bulker market has come to a halt, we foresee no recovery in the tanker industry, and for container shipping the situation is alarming,” said Von Rantzau. “We are particularly concerned at the results of our liner division where we have experienced substantial decreases in cargo volumes and strong pressure on freight rates. “But it is our Indian Ocean Islands service where we have experienced the most significant downturn,” he said. His views are echoed by managing director Hartmut Luehr who describes this as the worst crisis in container liner shipping in 50 years. But the line has implemented a range of measures to tackle the negative effects of the global crisis, he said. “All supplier contracts are being checked and renegotiated and charter rates adjusted in line with the developments and capacities. “In addition the strengths and weaknesses of our sales agencies are being critically analysed with the aim of implementing measures to increase our volume and market share on these routes. “There are areas where we can sell our strengths more aggressively,” he said. And while the Europe-SA trade is relatively small compared to the much larger volume in east-west traffic, the importance of other routes from and to southern Africa and the continent as a whole will grow, says Luehr. “Primarily this will include Asia, India and Latin America. “Be it in the long or short term, container traffic will also profit and we will be prepared to benefit from this.”
