MSC and Maersk are making adjustments to their ocean network to enhance efficiency and reduce emissions in Asia-Europe trade services.
The 2M alliance members aim to meet the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) requirements set by the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Starting from Week 23, the shipping giants will introduce nine additional vessels to their Asia-Europe trades.
The new schedules for these services will incorporate vessel speed adjustments to ensure compliance with the CII while maintaining service coverage and competitive transit times.
The expected impact on transit times includes a 3-day increase from Asia to North Europe, a 2-day increase from Asia to the Mediterranean, a 3-day increase from North Europe to Asia, and a 3-day increase from the Mediterranean to Asia.
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In addition to these changes, specific services will also be updated.
The Griffin service will now include a direct call at Xiamen instead of the current call on the Silk service.
Finally, the Lion service’s westbound rotation will be modified to include a stop at Antwerp after Sines and before Rotterdam.
Earlier in January, MSC and Maersk mutually agreed to terminate the 2M alliance at the beginning of 2025.
In the most recent analysis from Sea-Intelligence, Maersk emerged as the most reliable carrier for Q1 2023 with a schedule reliability of 63.6 per cent, with MSC being the only other carrier with figures higher than 60 per cent.
