P3 Launch Expected in Late Q2 2014

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Friday December 20, 2013

Following a meeting of competition regulators, Maersk Line tells industry news site Shipping Watch that it still expects the P3 alliance to launch in the second quarter of 2014.

Vincent Clerc, Maersk Line's chief trade and marketing officer, said the launch will probably take place toward the end of the quarter rather than in the early spring, as previously planned.

"The process is developing as expected and we are confident to receive an approval of the alliance for the cooperation to be launched in second quarter next year, perhaps during the last part of the quarter," he said.

The three carriers involved in the alliance, Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC), and CMA-GGM, recently submitted requested comments to the Chinese Ministry of Trade and answered questions from the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC).

"I believe it is positive and highly relevant for the authorities to cooperate and examine cross-border trade," Clerc said

"Regarding the review of P3 we are dealing with sovereign states meaning that we contribute with what we are requested to do."

The summit, which brought together regulators from the U.S., China, and the European Union (EU), finished without any definitive conclusions, ShippingWatch reported.

Lars Michael Jensen, future CEO of P3, said in September that the alliance will have about 200 employees between its London headquarters and a Singapore office.