COPENHAGEN - Maersk Line, the world's largest container shipper, said on Wednesday it was raising freight rates from Asia to the Mediterranean and on services from Northern Europe to North Africa and the Mediterranean.

The shipper, a unit of Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk (MAERSKb.CO), said in a statement it would raise rates on the Euro-Asia trade by 250 dollar per 20 foot container unit (TEU) on June 1.

It would raise rates by 75 euro per TEU on the Euro-Med transport from May 15, it said.

The shipping industry has seen a dive in freight rates and volumes amid the global economic downturn.

Trading conditions for the carriers operating in these markets are still subject to unacceptable rate levels and the situation is unsustainable in the longer term, Maersk Line said.

A.P.Moller-Maersk chairman Michael Pram Rasmussen Last week told an annual shareholders meeting boxship rates had dropped to unsustainable levels, particularly on the Euro-Asia trade.

The container shipping route between Europe and Asia is the world's busiest. (Reporting by Peter Levring; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)