As stated by Ricardo Martini, Managing Director of DCS Tramaco, who analyzed the changes in this area
The year 2025 will bring many changes to the global container shipping landscape. This is largely due to the revision of major shipping alliances, which should have “a positive impact also on the transportation of perishable products”, stated Riccardo Martini, Managing Director of DCS Tramaco, an international transport company specializing in refrigerated cargo, to FreshPlaza.
According to Martini, one of the main changes will be the dissolution of the 2M alliance between MSC and Maersk in February. He explains that MSC, the largest shipping line with the most vessels, will operate the East-West routes independently and details that for the Asia-Europe routes, it has formed a partnership with members of the Premier Alliance: ONE, Yang Ming, and HMM. Furthermore, he notes, MSC has signed a three-year cooperation agreement with ZIM for Transpacific routes.
On the other hand, he explains, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have created Gemini Cooperation. Meanwhile, CMA CGM, COSCO, and Evergreen have extended the duration of The Ocean Alliance until 2032.
According to the executive, the emergence of new alliances will lead to a rebalancing of existing structures. “There should be the possibility to choose the most suitable system for the specific traffic”, he projects.
The executive illustrates this by detailing the different operational approaches of MSC and Gemini Cooperation: “These companies have based their future services on two very different philosophies. MSC has decided to add ports to its services, believing that the growing fragmentation of global supply chains will reward operators capable of offering direct maritime connections, which for MSC is as important as service speed”.
Gemini Cooperation, Martini explains, has adopted an opposing strategy by reducing the number of ports served by the main vessel and implementing a hub-and-spoke model, which he projects will result in a 45% increase in transshipment cargo. The partners of Gemini expect the new system to reduce transit times between the main service ports, while maintaining a high level of service at secondary ports, which will be served by shuttle services and regional feeder vessels. Gemini’s goal is to achieve 90% reliability, as they believe that by reducing the number of ports on the main service, they can minimize the secondary effects of congestion, strikes, and other issues affecting the maritime sector.
“In the current situation, it is essential to assess the potential of connections through the Suez Canal, which play an important role in the transportation of fruits and vegetables between Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East. The alliances had assumed that there would be connections both through Suez and the Cape of Good Hope when they presented their respective services. Unfortunately, the problems affecting the Suez Canal for more than a year, have not been resolved”, he states.
“The current situation is having an unfortunate impact on European fruit exports in general, but particularly on Italian exports, which were particularly well-positioned to benefit from the Suez route. The substantial increase in transit times, along with the simultaneous rise in freight rates, has resulted in a notable decline in exports to some established markets. The latest figures from producer associations show a considerable decrease in fruit exports to the Far East, the Middle East, and India”.
Source: MundoMarítimo
