The German shipping industry broke all records in 2007, reportedly exceeding 3,000 ships and a container volume of 60 million gross register tonnage. That is an increase of 6.4 per cent to 3,179 ships compared with 2006, with the number of container ships alone up 15 per cent to 1,473 ships. Shipping companies' orders in hand have climbed around 67 per cent to around 1,200 ships, with investments up to around 35.5bn euros. Although container shipping remains the largest part of Germany's shipping industry, the cruise ship sector is also on the rise within Europe. German travel and shipping company TUI has said that it intends to launch TUI Cruises in 2009 with US cruise company Royal Caribbean Cruises, geared at the mass German market.
The good figures are being attributed to strong global trade, particularly with emerging markets, and the positive trend is expected to continue in 2008. The German companies currently hold a 38.3 per cent share of the global market. However, shipping companies are concerned over a lack of engineers, captains and other qualified on-board staff. VDR, the German association for German shipping companies, has said that the industry will be affected by high costs for fuel, docking, maintenance and personnel.
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