American wars big bucks for Maersk
Shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk has earned billions shipping equipment and personnel for the US military
The Danish government's support for US military operations around the globe has rubbed off nicely on the nation's largest company, A.P. Moller-Maersk. The shipping company has earned an estimated DKK 17 billion through contracts with the United States Department of Defence since 2000, reported Berlingske Tidende newspaper Friday.
A large number of orders tendered from the US Army and Navy made up the bulk of those profits and also made up a good chunk of Maersk's DKK 16.2 billion net earnings for 2006. The information was released by the Defence Department and showed the contracts were primarily for the transport of military personnel and equipment.
Peter Viggo Jensen, security policy expert at the University of Copenhagen, said Maersk positioned itself as the US's go to transport company several years ago.
'Maersk made a smart move at the time of the first Gulf War in 1990 when they offered their ships' services free to the Pentagon. It allowed them to get their foot in the door and it's a big reason why they're pulling such large orders today.'
John F Reinhart, chief executive of Maersk Line Limited, A.P. Moller-Maersk's US division, acknowledged his company was doing well from its contracts with the US military, but denied it had anything to do with Denmark's support for the Iraq War.
'Many of Maersk Line Limited's big contracts were made before the Iraq War. We have no knowledge of any connection between Denmark's support for the war and our private business.'
American records show that the Defence Department orders made up 97.2 percent of all the American government's contracts with Danish businesses. Maersk's DKK 17 billion made up the lion's share, while other Danish companies entered into Defense Department contracts worth a total of DKK 4.4 billion.
Carl Pedersen, adjunct at the Copenhagen Business School's Centre for the Study of the Americas, said the Iraq War's tragedy has been business' blessing.
'Seen from a strictly economic point of view, those contracts represent one of the advantages Denmark has reaped as a result of being a faithful ally of the USA.'