2M alters Asia-Europe network to ‘improve reliability’

According to the members of the 2M Alliance vessel sharing agreement, Maersk Line and MSC, a reduction in the number of port calls in its services connecting Asia with Europe will give the carriers more buffer time to adjust to weather or other delays.    The members of the 2M Alliance ocean carrier vessel sharing agreement are making changes to their joint services between Asia and Europe in an effort to increase schedule reliability, according to a statement from Maersk Line, which operates the 2M along with fellow vessel operator Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) and slot taker Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM).
   Reliability will be improved “by reducing the amount of duplicate port calls and allocating more buffer time around hub ports. Overall on North European and Mediterranean strings, there will be a reduction of 17 port calls, with an additional vessel added to the network,” said Maersk.
   According to ocean carrier schedule database BlueWater Reporting, the 2M carriers will make the following changes to their joint Asia-Europe services:
     • AE1/Shogun will drop calls to Yantian, Felixstowe, and Singapore, while adding a call to Salalah, leaving a full port rotation of Ningbo, Shanghai, Xiamen, Hong Kong, Tanjung Pelepas, Colombo, Antwerp, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, Tanger and Ningbo;
     • AE2/Swan will drop calls to Xingang, Tanjung Pelepas, and Hong Kong, while adding a westbound call to Tangier, leaving a full port rotation of Qingdao, Busan, Ningbo, Yantian, Tangier, Rotterdam, Felixstowe, Antwerp, Algeciras, Singapore, Yantian and Qingdao;
     • AE5/Albatross will drop calls to Qingdao, Tanger, Hamburg, and Wilhelmshaven, while adding a call to Dalian, leaving a full port rotation of Dalian, Xingang, Busan, Ningbo, Shanghai, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Gothenburg, Aarhus, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, Singapore, Shanghai and Dalian;
     • AE6-TP6/Lion-Pearl will drop calls to Yokohama and Sines, leaving a full port rotation of Ningbo, Shanghai, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, Algeciras, Antwerp, Le Havre, Felixstowe, Port Said, Singapore, Nansha, Hong Kong, Yantian, Xiamen, Los Angeles and Ningbo;
     • AE7/Condor will add calls to Qingdao, Yantian and Port Said, leaving a full port rotation of Qingdao, Ningbo, Shanghai, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, Port Said, Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Wilhelmshaven, Felixstowe, Antwerp, Le Havre, Tanger, Salalah, Dubai Jebel Ali, Yantian and Qingdao;
     • AE10/Silk will drop calls to Dalian, Busan and Xiamen, while adding calls to Xingang and Sines, leaving a full port rotation of Xingang, Gwangyang, Ningbo, Shanghai, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, Sines, Bremerhaven, Gdansk, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, Tanjung Pelepas, Shanghai and Xingang;
     • AE20/Dragon will drop calls to Dalian, Xingang, Busan, Ningbo, and Port Said, leaving a full port rotation of Shanghai, Ningbo, Shekou, Yantian, Singapore, Beirut, Gioia Tauro, La Spezia, Genoa, Marseilles-Fos, Barcelona, Valencia, Malta, Salalah, Singapore and Shanghai;
     • AE11/Jade will drop calls to Qingdao and Shekou, while adding calls to Dalian and Xingang, leaving a full port rotation of Dalian, Xingang, Busan, Ningbo, Shanghai, Nansha, Yantian, Singapore, Malta, Barcelona, Valencia, La Spezia, Gioia Tauro, Port Said, King Abdullah, Dubai Jebel Ali, Singapore, Xiamen and Dalian;
     • TP2-AE12/Jaguar-Phoenix will drop calls to Gioia Tauro and Salalah, leaving a full port rotation of Tanjung Pelepas, Cai Mep, Shekou, Yantian, Shanghai, Long Beach, Oakland, Vostochniy, Busan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Shekou, Singapore, Port Said, Haifa, Koper, Trieste, Rijeka, Trieste,  Port Said, King Abdullah City and Tanjung Pelepas;
     • And the AE15/Tiger will remain unchanged, with a port rotation of Qingdao, Busan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Shekou, Singapore, King Abdullah City, Izmit, Istanbul (Ambarli), Tekirdag, Piraeus, King Abdullah City, Dubai Jebel Ali, Singapore, Shekou and Qingdao.
   Maersk said the changes, which will begin in the westbound direction in early May, will address port congestion, weather conditions, and other factors that have impacted reliability on Asia-Europe services.
   “By improving buffers in schedules, Maersk said it will be “easier to accommodate potential disruptions and thus minimizing the impact on service delivery,” the company explained.
   “Forced port omissions disrupt cargo flows and impact our customers’ supply chains. This network is designed to reduce the necessity to omit ports”, said John Sigsgaard, Maersk Line’s head of Europe trade.
   Maersk said the changes will result in “better balance available capacity across markets, reducing the risk of oversupply and providing strengthened services to key Asian and European ports. Direct coverage to all main markets has been maintained, with tailored products designed for North European, Mediterranean, and Adriatic countries and with attractive coverage of main Middle East markets.”