Amidst rumours that Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) will be cancelling their transpacific route after just three services, MSC has confirmed it will be carrying on the service alone, reported Seanews Turkey.
The Maple service will resume on October 28, 2016, with new stops which include British Columbia and Vancouver; the route was created in response to the bankruptcy of Hanjin Shipping, and cancellation rumours began when advertising for the service was halted after just three shipments.
The transpacific service was part of a 10 year, 2M alliance between Maersk and MSC, which was a ship-sharing contract to include transatlantic, transpacific and euro-Asia routes, there is currently no news on whether or not this 2M alliance is in question.
MSC was recently involved in an incident in South Africa when the country’s Competition Commission said in a statement that shipping rates between Asia and South Africa could have been inflated after collusion between six companies including MSC and Maersk; data and documents were seized following a tip off from a member of the public.
PTI reported in mid-October, 2016 that Maersk had been investigating the ways in which operations involving paper based bills of lading can be revolutionised with the use of Blockchain.