MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company and Maersk A/S, an entity under A.P. Moller – Maersk, have mutually agreed to terminate, effective in January 2025, the present 2M alliance.

In a joint statement, CEO Vincent Clerc of A. P. Moller – Maersk, and CEO Soren Toft of MSC say, “MSC and Maersk recognize that much has changed since the two companies signed the 10-year agreement in 2015. Discontinuing the 2M alliance paves the way for both companies to continue to pursue their individual strategies.”

He continues, “We have very much appreciated the partnership and look forward to a continued strong collaboration throughout the remainder of the agreement period. We remain fully committed to delivering on the 2M alliance’s services to customers of MSC and Maersk.”

The announcement has no immediate impact on the services provided to customers using the 2M trades. Each company’s customer teams will communicate with their respective clients to support during, and beyond, the phase-out of the 2M alliance.

Background information about the 2M alliance:

• 2M is a container shipping line vessel sharing agreement (VSA)
• It was introduced in 2015 by the two companies with the aim of ensuring competitive and cost-efficient operations on the Asia-Europe,
• Transatlantic and Transpacific trades
• The 2M agreement has a minimum term of 10 years with a 2-year notice period of termination

Ocean Network Express has signed definitive agreements to acquire a 51% stake in each of TraPac LLC and Yusen Terminals LLC, currently held by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha respectively. TraPac is a container terminal operator and vessel stevedore that provides container terminal services in Los Angeles and Oakland. YTI is a container terminal operator and vessel stevedore that provides container terminal services in Los Angeles.

These acquisitions are part of the integration of the container shipping businesses from the parent companies into ONE. The recent disruptions to the supply chain due to Covid-19 have highlighted the importance container terminals play in keeping global trade flowing. The newly acquired container terminals will safeguard ONE’s access to terminal capacity in key and strategic gateways, support its growth ambitions and enhance its service offerings to customers.

The closing of these transactions is subject to the approval of the relevant authorities.

Ocean Network Express was established on July 7, 2017 by the integration of ‘K’ Line, MOL and NYK.

Their fleet size is 1,505,181 TEU which is the 7th largest in the world. Operations will be performed through a fleet of 205 vessels, including 35 super-large ships, such as the world largest 20,000TEU container-ships, in a service network covering over 120 countries around the world. ONE will further expand the number of ports in the future to Asia, North America, Europe, the Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East, also planning to expand our direct service to perform a wide service coverage.

Pacific International Lines has launched a new weekly direct service, South China Philippines service, which connects ports in South China to the Philippines.

Commencing 3 January 2023, the SCP service will provide weekly sailings which offer a comprehensive coverage of the ports in South China – Xiamen, Nansha and Shekou, and link them to Manila and Cebu in the Philippines. SCP will be served jointly by a consortium of two (2) vessels of average capacity of 800 TEUs.

Mr Surendran Mathilagath, General Manager, Intra Asia Services, PIL, said, “We are pleased to introduce this new SCP service, as part of our commitment to our customers to continually seek better connections and deliver quality services. The Philippine economy is forecasted to do well over the next few years, driven by healthy post pandemic domestic demand. In addition, the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement is also expected to benefit China-Philippines trade. The introduction of this new SCP service is therefore timely and will meet growing demand from customers for stronger trade linkages between the two countries.”

The ports of call for the SCP service are:

Xiamen – Nansha – Shekou – Manila – Cebu – Xiamen

Currently, PIL has two weekly services from Singapore to the Philippines – the North Philippines Service (NPE) and the South Philippines Service (SPE), connecting Subic Bay, Manila North, Davao and General Santos in the Philippines to Singapore.