Mediterranean Shipping Company has announced that it has made a new cooperation deal with SM Line, beginning on 1 April 2020, when 2M Alliance’s (an alliance between Maersk Line and MSC) – space agreement with Hyundai Merchant Marine will have expired, 31 March.
MSC said the new cooperation will ensure the continuity of services between Asia and the West Coast of North America, with improved services to the Pacific North West.
The new agreement with SM Line is separate from the 2M Vessel Sharing Agreement between MSC and Maersk, and the services of 2M and SM Line will complement each other, according to the statement.
It consists of a combination of slot exchanges and slot purchases among the three parties – MSC, Maersk and SM Line – and it is subject to regulatory approval.
Six weekly MSC services between Asia and the West Coast of North America
With the new agreement, MSC will be in a position to continue to offer six weekly services between China, South Korea, Southeast Asia and the West Coasts of the US and Canada.
Here are the full port rotations for MSC services on its updated transpacific network:
MSC highlights that from April it will offer three Pacific North West region services, instead of the single Pacific North West service in place today.
In addition, the Swiss shipping giant says that transit times will become more competitive from key Asian ports of loading to the West Coast of North America.
MSC, also, notes that the new MSC Rose service, spanning China, South Korea, Canada and the US states of Washington and Oregon, will benefit from exclusive access to space on SM Line’s Pacific North West Service.
MSC adds that its existing services to the US East Coast and Gulf remain unchanged and, also, the agreement between 2M and ZIM in the Pacific North West region remains in full effect.
