Dalgaard heads new Maersk Line

‘The Group has much to contribute to SA ports’ RAY SMUTS IT’S all over, now that the Fat Lady has sung: Flemming Dalgaard, MD of Maersk South Africa, has been appointed chief South African helmsman of the potent new Maersk Line, which officially kicks in worldwide on February 15. Not too long ago quiet-spoken, Danish-born Dalgaard told FTW that all Maersk Sealand personnel and those from P&O Nedlloyd - acquired for 2.3 billion euros (R17bn) by AP Møller-Maersk last year - would be evaluated on the basis of ‘best person for the job’ in Maersk Line, he and Bert Muys, MD of P&O Nedlloyd, included. “We looked at staff records, previous management appraisals combined with the level of education and previous work experience,” said Dalgaard At the end of the day, Lars Reno Jakobsen, Maersk’s main man in Africa, decided Dalgaard was most suited to take the new Maersk Line forward - no doubt with the backing of the powers-that-be in Copenhagen, Denmark. “I am very happy to be remaining in South Africa because there are still a lot of challenges I wish to become involved with,” says Dalgaard. “I want to make South Africa more efficient in order to serve our customers better and cheaper. “I still think we can do a lot more in the sphere of electronic medium communication. We need more broadband and greater internet capacity at a lower cost. Local telephone charges are far too expensive compared with the rest of the world. “Although there has been good investment in the ports, there is still room for improvement. First of all, I would like to see less wind in Cape Town,” he quips, “which now seems to have spilled over to Durban. “We would like more rail facilities and shorter transit times between the likes of Durban and Gauteng and faster productivity in the ports, up from around 18 to 20 crane moves per hour in Cape Town to a minimum of 25 to 30 moves per hour.” Dalgaard is adamant there is much AP Møller-Maersk is able to bring to the table as far as South African ports are concerned. “Whether it be Maersk Line or AP Møller Terminals, we have the capability to meet required standards, whether it be terminal operations or securing greater volumes for our customer base.” Dalgaard is confident the new carrier will have a southern African hub, to his mind best placed in South Africa, but emphasises there are a lot of other opportunities around. “We are, for example, doing a lot in Walvis Bay (Namibia) by way of transhipment cargo to mainly West Africa and South America (via four Maersk services). But what we really wish to create here in South Africa is a transhipment hub for East and West Africa, potentially operating from either Durban or Coega, Cape Town being too wind-bound.” FTW understands P&O Nedlloyd MD Bert Muys has been offered certain options within Maersk Line but when contacted by FTW, he was unwilling to expand. Meanwhile, all cogs are aligned for an Easter move from Cape Town’s Safmarine House by around 500 employees from Maersk Sealand and P&O Nedlloyd – the latter a spent force by then – APM Terminals, salvage company SwitzerWijsmuller, SATI, Maersk Logistics and AP Møller’s African headquarters, headed by Jakobsen, to spacious 8 500m2 headquarters in the V&A Waterfront’s Nedbank building.