Maersk Sealand goes it alone in U.S./Brazil trade

Maersk Sealand goes it alone in U.S./Brazil trade

   Maersk Sealand will end its participation in the Hamburg Sud/Maersk Sealand/P&O Nedlloyd vessel-sharing agreement covering the U.S. East Coast/East Coast of South America trade and start its own service next March.

   The Danish carrier's decision to pull out of the trade’s largest vessel-sharing agreement after many years of joint operations will represent a major tonnage shakeup for the trade. It will also force Hamburg Sud, P&O Nedlloyd and several slot charterers to consider replacement services for the agreement’s two weekly services after Maersk has withdrawn its ships.

   “We decided that we are going to start a string on our own,” said Jorgen Harling, vice president of business development at Maersk Sealand. For its future service, Maersk Sealand will deploy four 2,500-TEU ships used in the vessel-sharing agreement, as well as another two vessels of similar capacity, he added.

   The two loops operated by the vessel-sharing agreement today employ six 2,500-TEU vessels, including Maersk’s four, as well as six ships of 3,740-TEU capacity operated by Hamburg Sud.

   Alianca, Lykes Lines, TMM Lines, APL and Evergreen take space on the two weekly services, according to ComPair Data, the global liner-shipping database.