It was 100 years ago today when Maersk Line – the world’s biggest private-sector shipping company – began to trade with Brazil for the first time. Steamship Laura Maersk reached Brazil’s shores on 19 February 1913, docking at Paranagua first – nearly seven weeks after the ship was launched on 1 January 1913.

“The importance of Brazil to Maersk Line has changed significantly since 1913, we have gone from 2,800-tonne bulk cargo ships to a fleet of SAMMAX 88,237-tonne container cargo ships and we have played a key role in helping the food industry establish itself as a major global player,” said Peter Grangaard Gyde, CEO of Maersk Line Brazil. “But this is just the beginning, we are now helping our customers transport commodities from grains to metals via door-to-door container delivery, providing Brazilian producers access to new markets by opening trade routes across our global services network,” he added.

In February and March 2013, Maersk Line will be launching its 15th and 16th SAMMAX vessels – short for South America Maximum, which completes deliveries on 16 new ships costing USD 2.2bn. The last remaining ships to be launched are the Maersk Lamini and the Maersk Labrea. The ships are specifically designed to be the largest ships that can safely enter Brazil’s ports. The gearless ships largely transport poultry, meat and fruit today. The first SAMMAX to arrive in Brazil was the Maersk Lima in June 2011. The SAMMAX has a draft of 13.5m and a length of 299.9m. The ships carries 7,450 TEU, has 1,700 reefer plugs, travels at a speed of 22.5 knots – more than three times faster than Laura Maersk, and has 51,909 BHP, or 38,889kW. The crew compliment is 28 versus 25 for the Laura Maersk.

On that historic day, way back in February of 1913, Laura Maersk carried 2,800 tonnes of cargo with just four hatches; the engine had three cylinders, 1,400 HP and a speed of up to eight knots. In terms of size, she was just 14m wide, 97.7m long and 6.15m deep. With a crew of 25 that included four engineers, Laura Maersk was built to trade with Brazil and was known for transporting bulk cargo such as grain, timber and coal at the time.

It was not for another 81 years when Maersk Line’s first-ever container ship Maersk Santos arrived at Santos port in 1994, representing the start of a new era for Maersk Line in Brazil. In 2000, for example, the beef industry used only open cargo ships; today they have completely migrated to refrigerated container cargo to transport goods worldwide. This same trend is now starting with the grain, fertilizer, mineral and metal industries.

The arrival of Laura Maersk and Maersk Santos highlight some of the key changes in Brazil’s evolving global trade story. Today in the latest trend, metal and fertilizer producers, like beef companies more than 10 years ago, are increasingly turning to containers as a means of reaching new markets for the first time.

(www.worldmaritimenews.com)

세계 최대 컨테이너선사인 머스크가 탄생 100주년을 맞이했다. 당시 증기선이었던 로라 머스크호가 브라질 연안에 도달했던 때는 1913년 2월 19일. 첫 진수를 시작한 1월 1일부로 거의 7주 만이었다.

브라질은 머스크에게 있어 의미가 깊다. 2천8백톤 벌크선은 8만8천여톤의 SAMMAX급 컨테이너선으로 규모가 확대됐고 곡물에서 금속까지 다양한 화물이 컨테이너 도어-투-도어 서비스로 머스크의 글로벌 네트웍을 통해 신규시장으로 손쉽게 접근 가능해졌다.

금년 2월과 3월에 걸쳐 머스크는 15번째와 16번째 SAMMAX급 컨테이너선을 진수시킬 예정. 16척 전체의 가격은 22억불이다. 이 마지막 두 척은 브라질항만에 안전하게 입항할 수 있는 최대 크기로 특별히 설계됐다. SAMMAX급 선박은 흘수 13.5m, 길이 299.9m로 7,450TEU 선적이 가능하며 1천7백 개의 냉동컨테이너를 꽂을 수 있는 플러그가 설비돼 있다. 속도는 22.5노트로 1백 년 전의 로라 머스크호보다 세 배나 빠르지만 선원 수는 28명으로 고작 3명 더 늘었다.

100년 전 역사적인 그 날 로라 머스크호는 단지 4개의 해치만을 갖고 2천8백통의 화물을 운반했다. 엔진은 3기통에 1천4백 마력으로 8노트까지 속력을 낼 수 있었고 4명의 기관사를 포함 25명의 선원으로 곡물, 목재, 석탄같은 벌크화물을 운반하면서 당시에는 유명세를 떨쳤다.

지난 94년에는 머스크 산토스호가 산토스항에 도착함으로써 브라질에 입항한 머스크의 첫 번째 컨테이너선이 됐다. 2천 년도에만 해도 육류업계는 개방형 화물선만 이용했었는데 지금은 냉동컨테이너로 완전히 바뀌어 세계 각지로 수송되고 있으며 이런 경향은 곡물이나, 비료, 광물, 금속업계까지도 점차 확산되고 있다. 결국 로라 머스크와 머스크 산토스호는 브라질 무역의 변천사를 상징하는 징표로 남게 된 셈이다.