It said the carrier will from then onwards be able to deploy ships above 12,500 TEU on its four Far East-Europe/Med strings, with the remaining 11,500-TEU containerships displaced by the latest newbuildings.

According to the report, MSC's fleet of giant box ships it owns exceeds that of the Maersk Line's fleet, with the latter possessing 21 ships of above 11,500 TEU, much fewer than MSC's 43 units.

MSC is scheduled to take delivery of more giant containerships, which will raise the number of 11,500- to 14,000-TEU vessels in its own fleet to 56 by the end of the year. Within this total, 52 vessels will be bigger than 12,500 TEU.

On the other hand, Maersk will receive the first of its giant Triple-E ships in early 2013. "This gives MSC an edge to increase its market share substantially this year, mainly at the expense of Maersk," said Alphaliner.

It forecasts that by the end of 2012, MSC will have a surplus of 13 vessels ranging in size from 11,500-14,000 TEU "for which it has not yet unveiled any plans, although the most likely destination is the Far East-Europe trade," it said.

The report added that the "expected introduction of new tonnage by MSC on the Far East-Europe route could boost the carrier's capacity share from 15.5 per cent to around 17.5 per cent by the end of the year. According to this scenario, Maersk's share of market capacity would be reduced from 23.6 per cent to 21 per cent over the same period," Alphaliner said.

After two quarters of successive decline, the global economic climate has begun to improve, the survey indicated.

This is the result of a quarterly global survey published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Munich-based Institute for Economic Research (Ifo) that polled business and academic experts in 120 countries.

But the outlook for Asia is darker according to ICC secretary general Jean-Guy Carrier. "In the US economy, the six-month outlook is certainly more positive than it was three months ago," he said.

This offsets the economic climate in Asia, which is pointing to an economic slowdown, after significantly worse appraisals of the current situation further pushed the climate indicator below its long-term average, Mr Carrier said.

"The latest results confirm that the cyclical downswing of the world economy is still under way," said Ifo chief economist Gernot Nerb. "But they also confirm the now-prevailing view that the downswing will be relatively short and moderate in most countries and not devolve into a recession."

While the western European economic outlook has brightened, the six-month forecast remains uncertain yet the prevailing view is that a eurozone collapse and return to national currencies can be avoided.

"This view, coupled with the brightening economic outlook in some other parts of the world, particularly in the US, allows us to reasonably hope that the western European economy will start picking up in the second half of 2012," Mr Nerb said.

But in terms of value Fujian's January Taiwan trade fell 23.8 per cent year on year to US$740 million, sliding 20.2 per cent from December. Exports fell 28 per cent to $190 million year on year and 28.9 per cent month to month. Imports fell 22.3 per cent year on year and 16.7 per cent month to month to $550 million.

Petty trade value fell 17.5 per cent year on year to $18.61 million tonnes. Imports went 27.1 per cent down to $12.28 million tonnes. Export value increased 11.2 per cent to $6.33 million.

"This navigation channel to the North Sea is the access route for seagoing ships that have a draft of more than 14.3 metres. More and more of these ships come to Rotterdam because of the increase in scale and because the load factor of seagoing ships continues to grow," said the port authority statement.

"The Maasgeul is six miles long and 500 to 600 metres wide. It is being widened by another 240 metres so that by the summer of 2012 large seagoing ships will be able to pass each other," the press release said.

The harbour master also explained that last year's bad weather, including significantly more wind and storm than in 2010, had an adverse effect on the nautical figures of the port of Rotterdam.

The number of serious accidents at 16 compared to 15 in 2010, remained almost the same, but there was more bodywork damage (131 compared to 116). The harbour master added, "If you are talking about 16 accidents for close on one million ship movements, then the port is still extremely safe," he said.

The two companies have decided to establish committee expressly charged with bringing about greater cooperation in shipping services to enhance service quality and management efficiency.

The move is viewed as part of the response to Maersk's new "conveyor belt" delivery system called Daily Maersk, deploying the Danish shipping giant's super size to dominate the market. Chief rival, MSC and CMA CGM have joined together to enhance services to approximate those of the industry's biggest player just as other shipping alliances have re-calibrated their operations to meet the Maersk threat, too.

Cosco and CSCL senior management have been in talks for sometime discussing ways and means to enhance current operations and plan for future cooperation.

The two companies are aiming to boost development of China's shipping industry and facilitate the country's foreign trade via their cooperation.

"The bottom line for shippers is that they will eventually have four to five groups controlling 85 per cent of global capacity," he told the Sri Lankan branch of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS), reported Lanka Business Online.

"There is a strong possibility of a further consolidation of lines through mergers and acquisitions. The top 20 carriers now control 84 per cent of shipboard capacity - there is a concentration of power," said Mr Dissanayake.

"In 2012, some 250 vessels with a total capacity of 1.4 million TEU have come on stream of which 55 ships will be larger than 10,000 TEU capacity, he said. "It will be a case of survival of the fittest for lines in 2012. The global fleet of 8,000 TEU ships will grow by 20 per cent while overall demand growth is only 5.4 per cent."

Mr Dissanayake said the growing concentration of power among fewer shipping lines was an outcome of the global economic downturn triggered by the economic crises in the West that has caused a slowdown in trade.

The slowdown in cargo volumes amid the deployment of new, bigger ships on trade routes had also led to a reduction in freight rates.

Lower freight rates were causing massive losses among shipping lines, he told a forum organised by the Sri Lanka Branch of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS) to mark its 25th anniversary.

"There has been a massive decline in prices shipping lines get from exporters and importers who had fantastic year in 2011 at the cost to shipping lines," he said.

The downturn and overcapacity caused by a glut of new buildings had led shipping lines to form alliances. The current bevy of rate hikes by shipping lines struggling to avoid losses might not last because of an expected flood of big new vessels that will add to the already serious overcapacity, he said.