AP Moeller-Maersk recently met with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi to push for the next stage of approvals needed for its planned container terminal in the north-western Italian port of Savona.

This comes as the world's largest shipping company is seeking more business from the modernisation of Italy's ports as it attempts to boost its presence in the Mediterranean.

Last month, Maersk was awarded the concession to build and operate the Savona terminal after opening an office in Rome.

A Maersk statement expressed optimism that company container shipping performance would improve over last year when lower freight rates and higher fuel prices drove it into loss.