P&O Nedlloyd resigns from Grand Alliance

P&O Nedlloyd resigns from Grand Alliance    A.P. Moller-Maersk-owned P&O Nedlloyd has resigned from the Grand Alliance, giving six-month notice of withdrawal, which will become effective about Feb. 12.
   The withdrawal was expected by other Grand Alliance carriers — Hapag-Lloyd, Malaysia International Shipping Corp., Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Orient Overseas Container Line — following the takeover of Royal P&O Nedlloyd by Maersk, completed Thursday. The remaining carriers have already considered the Grand Alliance without the Anglo-Dutch carrier, the largest member of the alliance.
   “The new vessels ordered by Hapag-Lloyd, Malaysia International Shipping Corp., Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Orient Overseas Container Line will be deployed to meet the projected growth in demand and services,” the remaining alliance carriers said in an a joint statement today.
   They said they will offer a total capacity of 640,000 TEUs with 112 vessels dedicated to the three main east/west trade lanes. 2006 is when most major carriers will take delivery of a large amount of new ship capacity, helping to fill the capacity gap left by P&O Nedlloyd within the Grand Alliance.
   The alliance carriers have not commented publicly on whether they want to bring in a fifth shipping line to replace P&O Nedlloyd.
   The impact of P&O Nedlloyd's withdrawal on the alliance's extensive service network is not known. Other consortia and vessel-sharing alliances are also expected to be affected by P&O Nedlloyd's withdrawal.