Maersk has admitted duplicity in its handling of the scrapping of vessels on the Indian and Bangladeshi coast in 2014, having both publicised against it whilst also participating in and encouraging another company to partake in it, reported Politiken.
Maersk sent vessels to scrap, influencing the German company MPC Capital to end a contract with 14 ships and have them scrapped, where the steel would get the highest possible price (US$447 a tonne), in India and Bangladesh; shrapnel from the scrapped vessels pose serious risks to both people and the environment.
Trond Westlie, CFO and Maersk Executive Board Member, said directly to Politiken: “In this agreement it is clear that our influence went the wrong way, and that this type of influence is unfortunate. This is something we should not be doing.
“We acknowledge that we should not have entered an agreement encouraging the owner to seek out the highest steel price possible.”
It is unclear whether Maersk will be receiving any legal ramifications, although Danish political leaders have expressed a desire to bring charges to the world’s largest carrier.
It has been announced that Maersk is leaving its newest 2M alliance transpacific service, which will be run by solely MSC, which is reportedly to resume on October 28, 2016.
