Maersk parent acquires ship leasing specialists Ocean Yield as container spot rates surge

AP Moller-Maersk parent company AP Moller Holding is again expanding its footprint with the acquisition of shipowner and ship leasing company Ocean Yield.

The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Norway-headquartered Ocean Yield holds interest in more than 70 commercial maritime vessels in shipping segments including gas carriers, container ships, tankers and dry bulk carriers.

The company was founded in March 2012 as part of Norway’s Aker Capital backed by billionaire Kjell Inge Røkke, and spent 10 years as a publicly listed company on the Oslo stock exchange.

Aker subsidiary Aker Capital sold its 61.25% share to Octopus Bidco, a unit of KKR, in September 2021, at which point Ocean Yield had built its fleet from three vessels to 63 vessels through a strategy of investments in modern fuel-efficient vessels on long-term charters. KKR took Ocean Yield private with the private equity firm promising to substantially expand the more than US$2Bn in assets linked to Ocean Yield at the time.

A joint statement on the Ocean Yield sale to AP Moller Holding reported that Ocean Yield’s operations have expanded under KKR’s tenure.

"Under KKR’s ownership, Ocean Yield has invested more than US$3Bn to further expand the existing portfolio, diversify and broaden its investment-grade customer base, and has nearly doubled its long-term contracted backlog to more than US$5Bn," the companies said. 

KKR and Ocean Yield will maintain a strategic partnership through their joint investment in CapeOmega Gas Transportation AS. In August 2025, Ocean Yield joined with KKR in an acquisition of CapeOmega Gas Transportation and its co-owned fleet of 10 LNG carriers. 

Danish conglomerate AP Moller Holding’s purchase of Ocean Yield is part of a series of recent maritime acquisitions.

Most recently, AP Moller Holding privatized tugboat operator Svitzer in 2025 through a voluntary share offer. The firm also bought Maersk Supply Service in 2023, and saw its subsidiary Maersk Tankers finalise its takeover of Penfield Marine at the start of 2024 to create a large-scale crude and product tanker company offering services to pool partners and cargo customers.

The Ocean Yield acquisition also comes at a time when container shipping and logistics giant, and AP Moller Holding’s primary asset, AP Moller Maersk upgraded its full-year guidance for 2026 by a margin of roughly US$2Bn-US$3Bn, with the line saying it expects US$8-10Bn in pre-tax earnings in 2026. 

Freight market analysts Xeneta’s Chief Analyst Peter Sand reported container shipping "spot rates showing another double-digit increase" across most major routes, with all but the Northern Europe to US East Coast route showing triple-digit increases since the "Strait of Hormuz crisis" began at the end of February.

“Double-digit spot rate increases are seen across all major fronthauls from Far East to US and Europe in a clear sign peak season is already here at a global level. Shippers are moving right now to bring goods out of Asia and get them where they need to be ahead of potential further disruption during the peak season and a backdrop of continuing uncertainty in the Middle East," Mr Sand said.