ZIM and the 2M Alliance partners, Maersk and MSC, will extend their existing operational collaboration agreement on the Asia – US East Coast (USEC) and Asia – US Gulf Coast (USGC) trades, based on a full slot exchange and vessel sharing agreement, which is subject to finalising the related documentation and to regulatory approval.
In addition, the Israeli shipping line will launch ZIM Med Pacific (ZMP), a “pendulum” service on Asia to Mediterranean and Pacific North-West (PNW) trades, which will be operated by ZIM independently, and hence, the current collaboration with the 2M partners on these trades will be terminated.
Furthermore, the slot swapping agreement between ZIM and 2M on the Asia – Mediterranean and Pacific North-West (Asia – Canada) trades will end. “ZIM will no longer be a partner on these networks and all the services will instead be operated by the 2M partners,” explained MSC in a statement.
The new agreement is expected to be concluded by the beginning of February 2022 and to become effective on 1 April 2022, according to a statement.
“We are pleased to continue our collaboration with the 2M partners on the Asia to USEC and USGC trades and to launch a new, independent pendulum service to connect the Far East with the Mediterranean and the PNW,” stated Eli Glickman, ZIM president & CEO.
The combined new operational model is projected to allow better operational agility and provide fast and synchronised connections to ZIM’s regional networks in the Mediterranean, Asia and the Pacific, according to Glickman.
