COPENHAGEN: Maersk Line wants to be bigger in an area that is not usually associated with the container carrier: special cargo. The Global Head of this business department, Nikolaj Forsberg, elaborates in an interview with ShippingWatch.
Maersk Line is interested in more activity from one of the carrier’s smaller and lesser known business departments in order get improved results on the bottom line. This concerns the segment Special Cargo which is cargo that cannot be transported in the conventional container sizes but can be transported on container ships.
“We have access to the whole Maersk Line network for our special cargo. The only factor that decides whether we can transport a certain cargo is pretty much the port facilities at the ports where the cargo is going, as well as the size of the cargo – we can transport cargo of up to 300 tons,” says Nikolaj Forsberg, Global Head of Special Cargo at Maersk Line, to ShippingWatch.
Special cargo, heavy lift or break bulk cargo as the segment is also called, has been a part of Maersk Line’s business for more than 20 years, but is now receiving extra attention.
“It’s no secret that the container market is characterized by some extra weight on the supply side. In regards to that, special cargo is a reasonable way to get supply and demand to fit better. It’s a strategical gamble to expand the knowledge of what can move on container vessels,” says Nikolaj Forsberg.
