Maersk Line and Hamburg Süd will enter a slot purchase agreement for Hamburg Süd’s volumes on the East-West trades to be shipped on vessels in the 2M shipping alliance network between Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Line.
The slot purchase agreement, which covers Asia-North Europe, Asia-Mediterranean, Trans Atlantic and Trans Pacific trades, is unrelated to Maersk’s planned acquisition of Hamburg Süd and is instead due to changes in the global liner alliances.
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A joint statement by the companies said the agreement, scheduled to begin April 1, 2017, follows commercial negotiations “in anticipation of the termination of Hamburg Süd’s current slot purchase arrangements on the East-West trades”.
Søren Toft, Chief Operating Officer, Maersk Line, said: “Accommodating these additional volumes enables improved utilisation in our fleet and in turn provides opportunities to enhance our customer offering on select trades in our East-West network.”
Frank Smet, Member of the Executive Board of Hamburg Süd, said: “Our customers will benefit from extended port coverage, best transit times, and an increased number of loops in the East–West trades.”
The agreement is subject to maritime filing requirements being satisfied. The parties have promised to disclose information about network changes and schedules in the coming week.