AP Moller-Maersk profits plummeted as the bottom dropped out of the container shipping market. The Danish liner giant logged an underlying profit of $2.6bn for the first quarter, down from $7.5bn in the same period last year. Chief executive Vincent Clerc blamed lower freight rates and volumes, as container shipping demand softened.

The risk to shipping passing through the Strait of Hormuz ramped up this week following the second Iranian detention of a commercial ship in days.