Hapag-Lloyd is expecting to see an improvement in operating earnings this year as freight rates and transport volumes grow and merger synergies come to fruition.

But the German liner operator's chief executive said that 2017 has had a challenging start.

"Due to long-term contracts we have not yet been able to fully capture the recent positive rate development in the spot market while bunker price has increased significantly," said Rolf Habben Jansen in the company's annual reoprt.

Annual