Ahead of disbanding early next year of the 2M alliance between MSC and Maersk, respectively the first and world's second containerized shipping carrier that at the beginning last year announced their decision to cease the ten-year cooperation (inforMARE of 10 July 2014 and 25 January 2023), Denmark's Maersk announced its decision today to enter into a partnership with Germany's Hapag-Lloyd, fifth carrier by fleet capacity, specifying that This, too, will be a long-term operational collaboration term.

If Maersk embarks on the new adventure once after the one with MSC, Hapag-Lloyd will have to abandon the ongoing collaboration with the companies HMM, ONE and Yang Ming, with whom he cooperates within the THE Alliance consortium, which is set to expire on 1 April 2030, the date after the which would be automatically renewed for one year if one or more partners did not decide otherwise.

The alliance between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, called Gemini Cooperation, will become operational in February 2025 and will cover A fleet of about 490 ships with a total hold capacity 3.4 million TEUs, of which 60% were operated by Maersk and 40% from Hapag-Lloyd. The latter will exit THE Alliance at the end of January 2025.

Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd announced that the Gemini Cooperation will cover the Asia-USA West Coast, Asia-USA East Coast, Asia-Middle East, Asia-Mediterranean, Asia-North Europe, Middle East Orient-India/Europe and the transatlantic route. The network will be structured on the basis of 26 main scheduled and integrated services from a global network of shuttle services based on port hubs of owned or controlled by the two partners, of which 14 services shuttles in Europe, four in the Middle East, 13 in Asia and one in the Gulf of Mexico.

Announcing the new partnership, the two companies stressed that the aim is to ensure the reliability of the of ship departure schedules more than 90% once that the network of services will be fully operational.