Chinese shipping firms to face competition from 2M
September 30, 2014 Category Logistics, Ports & sea transport
Container ship operators from China are facing fresh pressure from the new 2M alliance between Denmark-based Maersk Line and Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Co. The new grouping comes after the three-party pooling alliance P3 was turned down by the Chinese government. The two European companies signed a 10-year vessel sharing agreement earlier in July to enhance their earnings capabilities. Zhang Shouguo, Vice President of the China Shipowners’ Association, said the government had rejected the P3 alliance because it had a combined market share of about 30% of the global container shipping market. Maersk and MSC have jettisoned the French container line and formed a vessel-sharing agreement in such a way that their combined market share is below the 30% threshold. Unlike the P3 network, the 2M partnership will operate more as a vessel sharing agreement without any separate independent organizations or executive powers managing the network. The agreement doesn’t include joint marine operations. Each party will execute its own operations, including stowage, voyage planning and port operations. Maersk and MSC can also manage their sales, pricing, marketing and customer service functions independently. The 2M network includes 185 vessels with an estimated capacity of 2.1 million TEU, deployed on 21 routes on three trade lanes: Asia-Europe, trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic. The 2M vessel-sharing agreement is expected to start in early 2015 following approval by relevant authorities.
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