Starting in April, Hamburg Süd’s cargo will be shipped on vessels in the 2M network, a carrier alliance consisting of Maersk Line and MSC.
In the wake of Maersk Line’s announcement in December that it will acquire Hamburg Süd, the two companies said they will enter into a slot purchase agreement for Hamburg Süd’s volumes on 16 strings on major east-west trades.
Starting in April, Hamburg Süd’s cargo will be shipped on vessels in the 2M network, a carrier alliance consisting of Maersk and MSC.
“Hamburg Süd is very satisfied about the agreement with Maersk. Our
customers will benefit from extended port coverage, best transit times,
and an increased number of loops in the east–west trades,” said Frank Smet, a member of the executive board of Hamburg Süd.
Søren
Toft, chief operating officer of Maersk Line, said, “Accommodating these additional volumes enables improved
utilization in our fleet and in turn provides opportunities to enhance
our customer offering on select trades in our east–west network.”
Hamburg Süd said that beginning in April, it will offer customers the following product portfolio and service frequencies:
• Asia-North Europe: Five sailings per week
• Asia-Western Mediterranean: Two sailings per week
• Asia-U.S. West Coast: Four sailings per week
• Asia-U.S. East Coast: Three sailings per week
• Transatlantic: Two sailings per week
Hamburg Süd said the agreement follows commercial negotiations in anticipation of the termination of its current slot purchase arrangements on the east–west trades.
According to BlueWater Reporting’s Capacity Report, Hamburg Süd currently participates on 12 services on major east-west trades, acting as a slot purchaser on 10 of the services and a vessel provider on two of the services.
The data shows:
• On the Asia to North Europe trade, Hamburg Süd purchases slots on the FAL23 and the AEX1/AEC1, jointly operated by the Ocean 3 and CKYHE alliances;
• On the Asia to Mediterranean trade, Hamburg Süd purchases slots on the AMC1, jointly operated by the Ocean 3 Alliance and COSCO;
• On the Asia to U.S. West Coast trade, Hamburg Süd purchases slots on the G6 Alliance’s NP2, the Ocean 3 Alliance’s Pearl River Express, the Ocean 3 Alliance and COSCO’s jointly operated Columbus, and the Ocean 3 Alliance and PIL’s jointly operated AAS2/AWS1/Yangtse;
• On the Asia to U.S. East Coast trade, Hamburg Süd purchases slots on the abovementioned Columbus and ZIM’s ZCP;
• And on the North Europe to North America trade, Hamburg Süd provides two of the five ships on the Liberty Bridge, which it jointly operates with CMA CGM and UASC.
Meanwhile, on the Mediterranean to North America trade, Hamburg Süd provides two of the 11 ships on the MPS, which it jointly operates with Hapag-Lloyd, and is a slot purchaser of Hapag-Lloyd’s MGX. Hamburg Sud said the agreement with Maersk does not cover the Mediterranean/North America services. It will continue to operate the services under separate agreements.
