Maersk, MSC to End 2M Container Shipping Alliance

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Wednesday January 25, 2023

Container lines AP Moller-Maersk and MSC are set to bring their 2M alliance to an end in two years.

The 2M alliance will be discontinued from January 2025, MSC said in an emailed statement on Wednesday.

The alliance was launched in 2015 and was one of the three major container shipping groupings.

Container market analysts suggest Maersk may now need to take on more vessels to maintain its capacity after the vessel sharing agreement comes to an end. With Maersk's commitment to only ordering vessels capable of running on zero-carbon fuels from now on, this could accelerate the firm's shift to methanol-fuelled ships.

"The 2M alliance played a key role in supporting the container shipping industry over the past eight years," Soren Toft, CEO of MSC, said in the statement.

"At MSC today, we continue to strengthen and modernize our fleet, providing us with the scale we need for the most comprehensive ocean and short-sea shipping network in the market.

"We remain focused on delivering high-quality, personal service to a wide range of clients, as we continue to develop cargo-carrying solutions on the oceans and beyond."

MSC overtook Maersk as the world's largest container line by capacity early last year. MSC currently has 4.6 million TEU of capacity to Maersk's 4.2 million TEU.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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