CMA CGM has been sharing vessels with MSC between Asia and northern Europe and with Maersk on Asia-Mediterranean routes since 2011, “so it will not be able to fill its ULCVs (ultra-large container vessels) on its own reasonably,” the London-based analyst says.
Maersk and MSC, the world’s two-largest container carriers, have agreed to withdraw from all other alliances on the key east-west routes, including those with CMA CGM, with which they planned to shares vessels on the P3 Network before it was shot down by Chinese regulators in mid-June.
“The game of musical chairs of the mega-alliances means that CMA CGM will now have to seriously consider a closer east-qest vessel-sharing agreement with someone else ... the most obvious candidates being UASC and CSCL,” according to Drewry.
The Dubai-based pan-Arab carrier and CSCL each have recently ordered 18,000-TEU mega-ships and have worked with CMA CGM in the past, “but there are options,” Drewry said.
“They may be needed, as CMA CGM has 28 ships of 9,000 TEUs on order, some of which are more suitable for north-south trades,” Drewry said.
Marseille-based CMA CGM, the world’s third-largest ocean carrier, has not yet commented on its exclusion from the 2M alliance or said what its plans are as it seeks another route to cut costs and manage capacity.
There are reports that CMA CGM is already considering alliances in the trades where it shared vessels with Maersk and MSC. It is understood that it will join the AMC1/AMX1 Asia-Med service operated together by UASC and CSCL at the end of July, deploying an 8,189-TEU vessel.
Drewry also highlighted potential problems facing the new deal between Maersk and MSC. As 2M will not include joint maritime operations, with each carrier looking after stowage, voyage planning and port operations, service quality could be very different to that envisaged by the P3 Network.
“Will a shipper loading a container on an MSC ship really get the same schedule reliability as when loading on a Maersk ship, for example?” Drewry has consistently recorded a lower level of reliability for MSC.
Maersk will want to continue its Daily Maersk service guarantees between Asia and North Europe, which could create further friction between the two partners in the new proposed VSA, the London analyst said.
