Danish shipping line Maersk Line has concluded a slot purchase agreement with Hamburg Sud involving shipping the latter’s volumes on the East-West trades on vessels in the 2M network, the alliance formed by Maersk Line with MSC.
The agreement is scheduled to begin April 1, subject to maritime filing requirements being satisfied.
The deal was made as Hamburg Sud’s current slot purchase arrangements on the East-West trades are set to expire, the company said in a statement.
Hamburg Sud is a shipping line on the North-South ocean trade routes. Until 2016 it was part of the Oetker group, a family-owned German conglomerate. On December 1, 2016 it was announced that A.P. Moller-Maersk group’s Maersk Line had signed an agreement to take over the company.
“Hamburg Sud is very satisfied about the agreement with Maersk. Our customers will benefit from extended port coverage, best transit times, and an increased number of loops in the East-West trades,” said Frank Smet, member of the executive board of Hamburg Sud.
Soren Toft, chief operating officer of Maersk Line, said: “We are pleased with this agreement. Accommodating these additional volumes enables improved utilisation in our fleet and in turn provides opportunities to enhance our customer offering on select trades in our East-West network.”
In detail, Hamburg Sud will offer the following product portfolio and service frequencies come April: Asia-North Europe—5 sailings per week; Asia-Western Mediterranean—2 sailings per week; Asia-U.S. West Coast—4 sailings per week; Asia-U.S. East Coast—3 sailings per week; and trans-Atlantic—2 sailings per week.
