Maersk Line and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, the 2M Alliance of the world’s largest ocean carriers by market share, has announced a new strategic cooperation with ZIM.
According to a statement, the three shipping companies will collaborate to meet demand from the Asia-US West Coast (USWC) and Asia-Mediterranean trade routes.
MSC, Maersk Line and ZIM, as part of the agreement, will run operations on the Maple service, with seven vessels travelling between Asia and the US West Coast.
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A vessel service agreement between the 2M partners will contribute three vessels to this service, while ZIM will operate four vessels.
On the Orient service, which remains a fully 2M-operated route, the parties involved will swap slots.
Despite the operational changes made under the new agreement, MSC has stated that the schedules of its Maple and Orient services will not be affected.
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MSC and Maersk Line have agreed to allocate some slots to ZIM on services between Asia and the Mediterranean, and rotations will remain the same as per the announcement of a new 2M East-West Network in December 2018.
A further statement from MSC read: “The new arrangements will enhance MSC’s products across these regions and offer competitive and reliable schedules to our customers.”
The service changes are expected to take effect from March 2019, subject to regulatory approval.
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