Their marriage is coming to an end. Maersk and MSC have announced that they have mutually agreed to terminate, as of 2025, their vessel sharing agreement signed back in 2015.
In two years’ time, the 2M alliance will therefore no longer be operational.
The news was announced by the carriers themselves in a joint statement. “MSC and Maersk recognize that much has changed since the two companies signed the 10-year agreement in 2015,” said Maersk CEO Vincent Clerk and MSC CEO Søren Toft.
With the end of the 2M alliance, the companies will return to each pursuing their own individual strategies. “We have very much enjoyed the partnership and look forward to a continued strong collaboration throughout the remainder of the agreement period. We remain fully committed to delivering on the 2M alliance’s services to customers of MSC and Maersk,” they added.
As Lloyds List pointed out, there had been speculation over the last few years that the alliance was coming under pressure due to the world’s two largest container lines’ diverging strategies.
Over recent years, Maersk has focused on becoming an integrated container logistics provider, while MSC has invested heavily in increasing its vessel capacity by expanding its fleet.
MSC’s increased capacity during the pandemic had led some to suggest that the liner, which, in the meantime, had become the world’s largest carrier, was moving closer to achieving economies of scale such that it no longer needed to work with another carrier to provide all the necessary services.
Translation by Giles Foster