The annual report of A.P. Moller-Maersk for the fiscal year 2025 reflects the growing financial impact of the European emissions trading system (EU ETS) on the accounts of the Danish integrated container logistics group, while revealing a differentiated evolution between its two major hub terminals in the Strait: APM Terminals Algeciras and the facilities of Tangier Med, in Morocco.
According to the data from the report, the cost associated with the EU ETS in Maersk's Ocean segment rose to 316 million dollars during 2025, marking an increase of 96% compared to the 161 million recorded in 2024. In the fourth quarter alone, the bill for emission rights reached 89 million dollars, compared to 34 million from the same period the previous year.
This cost increase occurred in a context where total (bunker) fuel costs for the maritime segment decreased by 13%, down to 6,135 million dollars, thanks to a 12% reduction in the average fuel price (from 613 to 539 dollars per metric ton) and a 4.2% decrease in consumption, resulting from the operational efficiencies generated by the Gemini cooperation with Hapag-Lloyd. The report itself notes that, excluding the effect of the EU ETS, the decline in fuel costs would have been 16%. In terms of sustainability, the report indicates that 15% of Maersk's Scope 1 emissions are covered by regulated emissions trading schemes, like the EU ETS.
The growing financial burden of the European emissions system is particularly relevant for analyzing Maersk's operations in the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Danish group operates hub terminals on both sides of the maritime passage. The annual report expressly identifies Maasvlakte-II (Rotterdam), Algeciras, Tangier, Tangier Med II, and Port Said (Egypt) as strategic Ocean hub terminals, in addition to joint venture stakes in Salalah (Oman) and Tanjung Pelepas (Malaysia).
According to the report itself, these hub facilities are not counted within Maersk's Terminals segment, but their results are integrated into the Ocean segment, as their main function is to provide transshipment services to the company's maritime business, while the third-party volumes traded at those locations are considered secondary. The revenues of the hub terminals are categorized under 'other revenues, including hubs' in the Ocean segment, which amounted to 5,341 million dollars in 2025, compared to 4,704 million in 2024.
Regarding the corporate structure, APM Terminals Algeciras S.A. is a fully owned subsidiary of the Danish group, while in Morocco, it operates through two companies: APM Terminals MedPort Tangier S.A., with an 80% stake, and APM Terminals Tangier S.A., with a 90%. This dual structure in Morocco reflects the existence of two differentiated facilities in the Tangier Med port complex.
The geographical data from the report reveal a contrasting evolution between both countries. External revenues generated in Morocco increased from 350 to 418 million dollars, while non-current assets in the North African country rose from 1,616 to 1,786 million dollars. In Spain, external revenues decreased from 1,514 to 1,391 million dollars, and non-current assets were reduced from 1,016 to 959 million dollars. It should be noted that these figures include all of Maersk's activities in each country—not just transshipment terminals—since in Spain the group also operates through APM Terminals Barcelona, APM Terminals Valencia, Damco Spain, and other logistics and service subsidiaries.
The strategic position of Tangier Med within the Gemini network is highlighted in the report itself, which uses the Moroccan hub as a central example to illustrate its new East-West network architecture. According to the operational model description, the cargo coming from Busan (South Korea) is transferred via a shuttle service to the Asian hub of Tanjung Pelepas (Malaysia), where it is loaded onto a mainliner bound for the Tangier hub (Morocco), from where it is redistributed via another shuttle to its final destination. The report indicates that this modular design allows for a reduction in stops on main routes and optimizes vessel utilization, and that the network has achieved schedule reliability of over 90% since its full implementation in June 2025.
On sustainability, the report notes that market-based Scope 2 emissions were reduced by 12% in 2025 thanks, among other factors, to the transition to renewable electricity sources in Morocco and the increased use of solar energy in Bahrain.
The entire Terminals division of Maersk—which, as noted, does not include transshipment hubs—recorded an EBIT of 1,747 million dollars in 2025, 31% more than in 2024, with an EBIT margin of 32.7% and a return on invested capital (ROIC) of 16.1%. The report describes these results as the best in the division's history. Volumes in the segment grew by 8.9%, reaching 14,254 thousand movements. In Europe, the gateway terminals' volumes increased by 9%, with significant growth in Vado (Italy) and Aarhus (Denmark), partially offset by lower volumes in Barcelona, as reported in the report.
At a consolidated level, Maersk closed 2025 with revenues of 54 billion dollars, down from 55.5 billion in 2024, an EBIT of 3.5 billion, and a free cash flow of 2.2 billion. The company operated a fleet of 721 container ships at the end of the year, with an average operated capacity of 4,566 thousand TEUs, and had an order book of 27 dual-fuel vessels. Freight rates fell by an average of 17%, although loaded volumes grew by 4.9%, reaching 12.94 million FFE.
For 2026, according to the financial guidance in the report, the company anticipates a global container volume growth of between 2% and 4%, and assumes a gradual reopening of the Red Sea, a forecast complicated by the recent military events in the Middle East. Maersk has estimated an underlying EBITDA of between 4.5 and 7 billion dollars, and an underlying EBIT of between -1.5 and 1 billion dollars.