FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Container vessel operators Hapag-Lloyd of Germany and Maersk of Denmark said on Wednesday they will form a new alliance from February 2025.
For Hapag-Lloyd, the tie-up, called Gemini Cooperation, will replace its participation in THE Alliance, and for Maersk will replace its 2M link with number 1, MSC.
Both alliances have helped ship-owners to align capacity in recent years in response to demand patterns en route from Asia to Europe, as well as in the Atlantic and Pacific.
The companies are now pursuing new strategies to secure market share in the changing requirements of the post-COVID world where freight incomes are falling due largely to muted economic growth.
Here are some details:
* There will be 290 vessels with 3.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of which Maersk provides 60% and Hapag-Lloyd the rest
* Transit times in port-to-port corridors to improve
* Both companies will carefully plan and execute the transition in 2024, with customers continuing to receive services along existing agreements
* The cooperation will cover seven trades: Asia/U.S. West Coast, Asia/U.S. East Coast, Asia/Middle East, Asia/Mediterranean, Asia/North Europe, Middle East–India/Europe and Transatlantic
* Gemini Cooperation will comprise of 26 mainline services, complemented by dedicated shuttles around transhipment hubs