DENMARK’S INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING

SHIPPING: Danish shipping is doing a good job these days in every department –financial revenues, foreign exchange earnings, operational tonnage, new vessels built and other aspects especially where container operations form a major part.

In 2005, Danish shipping companies generated revenues of approx. USD 23 bn, a 20% increase on 2004. The Danish Shipowners’ Association forecasts continued growth in 2006, despite an anticipated small drop in cargo rates, which achieved record heights in 2005.

Danish shipping companies operate around 50 million tons dead weight internationally. Of the 50 million tons, about 30% is directly owned by around 100 Danish shipping companies ranging from the small to the very large. The rest are ships which are chartered or pooled from Danish shipping companies and cargo carriers.

By the end of 2005, Danish shipping companies had a new vessel construction programme valued at approx. USD 12 bn. The

existing Danish fleet is already the world’s youngest with an average age of just under seven years. The ongoing new-build programme will reduce the average age to 6.2 years, compared with the world average of 12 years. The new-build programme might be significantly larger according to the Danish Shipowners’ Association, since the USD-12 bn figure only includes contracts which have been confirmed by both shipping company and shipyard.

The foregoing figures speak for themselves, but they also say something about the cause and effect that the concept of ’quality shipping’ has achieved for Denmark. Quality shipping means safety, reliability, trustworthiness and competitiveness. Denmark’s golden reputation is built on an exception-

ally high educational level for both the crew at sea and the growing numbers of skilled shipping people on land. The Danish corporate sector uses the ’Blue Denmark’ concept, which means shipping and associated/derived businesses. It covers operation of harbours, shipyards, hardware and software sub-suppliers for shipping, equipment and service deliveries as well as offshore activities in oil and gas. ’Blue Denmark’ involves 120,000 people who help ensure and maintain the Danish quality level.