OCEAN Alliance to revise global network

Set to launch in April, the network will involve the deployment of about 330 containerships with a carrying capacity of around 3.8 million TEUs across 38 services.    Members of the OCEAN Alliance – a space sharing agreement between liner carriers CMA CGM, Evergreen Line, COSCO Shipping and Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) – have agreed to extend their cooperation through 2027 while announcing revisions to the network that will take effect in April 2019.
   When the OCEAN Alliance was formed in 2017, its members said it would have a five year-life, with an option for a five-year extension. CMA CGM said the decision at a meeting in Hainan, China this week to confirm the 10-year duration of the partnership “reflects the trust and high-quality working relationship” between the members.
   Meanwhile, the OCEAN Alliance’s revised network taking effect in April will involve the deployment of approximately 330 containerships with a carrying capacity of around 3.8 million TEUs on 38 services. CMA CGM said it will operate 111 of the ships.
   Data from BlueWater Reporting’s Capacity Report shows the OCEAN Alliance currently deploys 319 containerships with a carrying capacity of around 3.52 million TEUs on 35 services.
   CMA CGM referred to the OCEAN Alliance’s upcoming revisions to its service network as its “Day 3” product; it called the revisions made in the spring of 2018 the “Day 2” offering.
   The OCEAN Alliance’s revised network will include:
     • 19 services in the transpacific, with 12 to the West Coast of North America and seven to the East Coast of North America;
     • Seven services between Asia and North Europe, one more than today;
     • Four services between Asia and the Mediterranean;
     • Two transatlantic services linking North Europe to the East Coast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico, with COSCO offering a third transatlantic service that will not be part of the Ocean Alliance;
     • Four services between Asia and the Middle East;
     • And two services between Asia and ports on the Red Sea.
   “This new agreement with our Asian partners will enable us to propose to our customers an unrivaled and competitive service offering. It is a milestone in our development strategy,” said Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and chief executive officer of the CMA CGM Group.
   Details, including port rotations, are posted on the COSCO Shipping website.