Maersk containers on ship

Maersk Line has extended its lead on schedule reliability performance during the second quarter of 2010, posting 76.5 per cent reliability according to UK-based independent market analyst Drewry.

The group's performance contrasted with the industry as a whole, according to Drewry, which noted that reliability fell to just 45 per cent between April and June.

Only half of the top 20 carriers ranked by vessel capacity achieved 50 per cent reliability or above, with CSAV – placed second in the first quarter – performing particularly poorly with a 21 per cent drop in reliability.

'Drewry is encouraged to see that the world's biggest carrier is taking the issue of service reliability so seriously and hopes that it will lead other lines to adopt a similar attitude,' the report read.

Asger Lauritsen, head of operations execution at Maersk Line, said that the group had been 'consistently widening the gap' to competitors.

'We are improving our performance while the average for the industry is worsening,' he said. 'Teamwork and our ability to see through hotspots, plus the real-time monitoring of vessels, ports and cargo enable us to intervene the moment we see something going wrong.'

The strategic ambition remains to strive towards 95 per cent on-time delivery and that, according to Mr Lauritsen, will 'entail a lot of hard work from the whole business organisation, not just the vessels'.