Long live the Ocean Alliance. The cooperation between CMA CGM, Evergreen, Cosco and OOCL will be extended until at least 2032. The four carriers announced it yesterday afternoon at a press conference during which they jointly signed a new Memorandum of Understanding extending their operating agreement.
This decision came unexpected. It goes against the announced termination of the 2M Alliance between Maersk and MSC. Likewise, it is contrast with Hapag Lloyd’s decision to leave The Alliance (formed not only by the outgoing German carrier but also by HMM, Ocean Network Express and Yang Ming) with the aim of joining the Gemini Cooperation with Maersk.
The Ocean Alliance’s fleet currently consists of 1,338 boxships with a 8.4 million TEU total capacity. Launched in spring 2017, the Ocean Alliance operates on seven routes between Asia and Northern Europe, Asia and the Mediterranean, and Asia and the US West Coast.
CMA CGM CEO Rodolphe Saadé stated that “the decision to extend our cooperation for at least 5 more years forges our commitment to meet our customers’ needs and build even more secure, reliable and sustainable supply chains. Our diversity is our strength, together we will continue to pioneer our industry!”
Translation by Giles Foster
