Maersk says '09 container market particularly dire

COPENHAGEN, April 30 (Reuters) - Shipping and oil heavyweight A.P. Moller-Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) told its shareholders on Thursday that its outlook for the container shipping market this year was particularly dire.

Maersk Chairman of the Board Michael Pram Rasmussen told the group's annual general meeting that the global economic downturn was having a negative impact on most of its businesses.

Pram Rasmussen said the container shipping markets had experienced unprecedented drops in transported volumes in early 2009 and this, combined with the addition of new tonnage, had led to a significant decrease in rates "to an untenable level".

"Seen as a whole, the prospects for the container market activities in 2009 are particularly negative," he said.

The Danish conglomerate owns the world`s largest container liner Maersk Line, which carries 15 percent of all container cargo in the world.

Pram Rasmussen said in his speech that tanker and offshore markets were also experiencing falling demand, hitting spot and contract rates.

"For 2009, however, the group has significant contract cover jack-up rigs, semisubmersible rigs, FPSOs (floating production storage and offloading system) and supply ships, which is positive in the current situation."

The head of Maersk Line, Eivind Kolding, told Reuters in March that the firm planned to lay up up to 25 container carriers into 2010 to match the unprecedented drop in demand.

He said the outlook in 2009 for A.P. Moller-Maersk, which is due to report first-quarter earnings on May 12, was very uncertain, particularly due to the slump in the global economy.

Pram Rasmussen said the group did not expect to make any profits in 2009 from the sale of ships.

A.P. Moller Maersk was still very well capitalised and held a considerable liquidity reserve, he said, adding that the firm was not considering to raise new capital, saying it was "neither necessary nor desirable." (Reporting by Peter Levring and Rasmus Jorgensen; writing by Anna Ringstrom; editing by Karen Foster)