German shipowners drop state aid plea - `too many questions`

TWO German containership owners are reported to have withdrawn pleas for state aid from the federal government.
A report by London`s Financial Times said that Peter Dohle Schiffahrt have withdrawn applications, after receiving "numerous questions" from officials studying the request.
Another owner Claus-Peter Offen announced earlier said it no longer planned to rely on state funding to finance its order book, according to statements made to the shipping press.
Germany`s containership owners control about one third of the world`s box fleet and 60 to 70 per cent of all the new ships on order.
"We`ve simply said: `We leave it and we wait until the overall political situation can clarify whether help for shipping is granted,`" Jochen Dohle, president of Peter Dohle Schiffahrt told the Financial Times.