Carriers detail port rotations for new alliances

MSC provides details on 2M, CMA CGM provides details on Ocean Three.    MSC on Thursday detailed the rotations for its planned 2M alliance with Maersk in an announcement on its home page.
   Diego Aponte, the chief executive officer for MSC, said, “The proposed VSA will provide an increased number of port pairs, more direct ports of call and enhanced transit times. Schedule integrity will improve as a result of an increased number of weekly sailings.”
   The VSA encompasses 185 ships with 2.1 million TEU of capacity.
   2M plans six stings between Asia and North Europe, five between Asia and the Mediterranean, three in the transatlantic to North Europe and two in the transatlantic to the Mediterranean. It also plans four transpacific services to the West Coast of the U.S. and Canada, and two between the Asia and the U.S. East Coast, both of which are trans-Suez services.
   CMA CGM has also detailed rotations for the planned “Ocean Three” vessel-sharing agreement between CMA CGM, United Arab Shipping and China Shipping. It will encompass 159 ships with 1.5 million TEU of capacity.
   It plans six loops between Asia and North Europe, four loops between Asia and the Mediterranean, and seven loops between Asia and the U.S. Two of the loops are  actually two ends of the same “Columbus” string; this is pendulum service whose ships travel from the Far East to the Pacific Northwest and upon return to the Far East then travel through the Suez Canal to the U.S. East Coast before returning via the Suez to the Far East then Pacific Northwest. As a result, Ocean Three will offer offer five calls to the West Coast of North America and two to the East Coast from Asia — one is the Columbus service that transits the Suez Canal, and the other is a service that transits the Panama Canal and calls both the U.S. East Coast and Gulf.
   Ocean Three has not outlined any plans for service between between the U.S. and North Europe or the U.S. and Mediterranean.