A Clearer Picture of Major Carrier Split

Last month we shared news that the 2M Alliance had announced their vessel sharing would end in 2025, effectively bringing an end to the agreement.

Since then, the intentions of both MSC and Maersk have started to unravel and a clearer picture has emerged of what they have planned.

It looked likely there would be a major shake up of the current Alliance set up as they sought new partners.

However, it now looks as though both of the world’s two biggest steamship lines will be going forward as standalone carriers, operating their vessels as independent networks.

In recent days, the Maersk CEO is understood to have said “Today there are three major networks, in the future there will be four.”

The four networks he refers to are clearly Maersk, MSC, THE Alliance and the OCEAN Alliance.

While their original announcement refers to a split in 2025, we can assume that both parties will be working towards their own goals from now. This could mean we start to see changes on some routes from as early as next year.

As ever, the Atlantic Pacific team will be monitoring developments closely.