MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and Maersk have jointly announced a mutual decision to terminate the 2M Alliance, effective from January 2025.
In a joint statement, A.P. Moller-Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc and MSC CEO Soren Toft of MSC said: “MSC and Maersk recognize that much has changed since the two companies signed the 10-year agreement in 2015. Discontinuing the 2M alliance paves the way for both companies to continue to pursue their individual strategies.
“We have very much appreciated 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.”
The 2M Alliance is a container shipping line vessel sharing agreement that was introduced in 2015 for a ten year period (with a 2 year notice of termination) with the aim of ensuring competitive and cost-efficient operations on the Asia-Europe, Transatlantic and Transpacific trades.
Commenting on the move, leading international container shipping analyst, Lars Jensen, commented: “My view is that this is only the beginning of a re-shaping of the alliance/VSA constellations on especially the major east-west trades. This will change the competitive dynamics on the major east-west trades for all major carriers, and clearly all carriers will take a close look at which threats and opportunities this will bring forth. In essence this should be seen as the first domino of many to fall over the next 1-2 years. Even if 2M formally runs until January 2025 it should be expected that Maersk’s and MSC’s networks on the alliance trades will begin to deviate even more in 2023 through different VSA and slot-charter agreements.”
