Maersk Line hosted a number of key customers at the Velux 5 Oceans (V5O) race village this month to present its vision of sustainable shipping. Customers were enthusiastic about the “clear message”.

It was a busy week at Maersk Line’s Climate Box at the V5O race village in Cape Town, South Africa, beginning with an energetic visit from over 100 schoolchildren from the local Ecole Francaise Francois le Vaillant school — all eager to learn about energy efficiency in container shipping and to get some practical sailing tips.

Customer presentation

The week culminated with some of Maersk Line’s key customers joining the team at the climate box.

“This was a great opportunity for Maersk Line South Africa to explain some of the initiatives we have taken as a company to improve upon our CO2 and SOx emissions to our customers,” says Kerry Rodrigues, Communication Manager for Maersk Line in South Africa.

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and most of the skippers, including Derek Hatfield — who took time out from his busy schedule to answer technical questions on the race, his yacht Activehouse and a typical day in the life of a skipper in the race — participated in the event which proved to be a great treat for customers and the Maersk Line team.

A clear message

At the event, Koos Vorster from Van Doorn, a supplier in the container market, said: “The presentation that Maersk Line gave brought home a clear message in terms of targets and how they see the role of sustainability in the future. I personally, as well as from a business perspective, support them.”

“As an individual it’s difficult to make a contribution, so for me the easiest way to contribute is to support a bigger player that can really make an impact,” he added.

Andy Connell from Dole, the world’s largest producer of fruit and vegetables, added: “We choose our partners by sea very carefully based not just on price but their ability to service, their work ethos and way of doing business.”

In this respect, Maersk Line and Dole are well aligned and have worked on ways to be more energy efficient in the transportation of fruit. One example is a recent project to transport goods bound for export by rail rather than truck.

Connell said Dole is focused on “finding areas to be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly” when it comes to doing farming and selling its fruit which makes the company a key strategic partner for Maersk Line.

“After an exciting week in Cape Town, it is time to close up the Climate Box and send it to Wellington, New Zealand — the next host port stopover,” said Rodrigues.