"I wish all private equity lots of luck with their investments but it is difficult to see how on average it can be profitable," he said.
Owning tonnage today carries with it financial costs, depreciation and the risk of technological obsolescence at a time when the price of everything is falling. It was difficult to follow the logic of private equity and hedge funds.
Speaking in Copenhagen to an audience of chief executives and many other leading shipping industry figures, Andersen said AP Moller-Maersk now seeks to postpone buying ships to fulfil its business plans as late as possible, which means it avoids speculating on asset price movements.
Even if an owner can get someone else to share some of the risk, while benefitting also from tax advantages it can still be a zero sum game he said.
Having spent only seven or eight years in the industry, Andersen said he was reluctant to dispense advice but he urged owners to order less and look deeper into what the market needs.
The market is overbuilt and there is plenty of shipyard capacity, said Andersen who was attending the Danish Maritime Days forum.
But the industry needs to keep innovating. Great ideas can change the world as did the introduction of containers many years ago.
Meanwhile, Andersen said that although 90% of world cargoes travel by sea, trade was not as free as it should be."There is no doubt that we live in a time when global agreements are being challenged," he said.
A recent study had indicated that reducing trade barriers could improve trade by 1.8% of global GDP.
He also talked about the trend towards bilateral or regional agreements like the Pacific Alliance agreement between countries on the Pacific side of Latin America, the Trans Pacific Partnership and talks between the European Union and US on a transatlantic trade agreement.
But overall the free world seen during globalization was slowing down and "we have to work to get it going again."This is a constant battle we have to fight," said Andersen.
Everyone sees a substantial growth in shipping and provided "we can avoid outright protectionism" we will continue to grow, he added.
So why is shipping not an attractive industry, pointing out that the 55,000 ships on the world's oceans have lower returns than most other industries? he asked.