O3 alliance could sail earlier than 2M

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CMA CGMThe three-way alliance Ocean Three (O3) between CMA CGM, China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL), and United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) will need permission to operate only from the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), and not from European and Chinese maritime regulatory authorities.

French ocean carrier CMA CGM said this is because only the Asia-North America trade lanes exceed the cap on market share for shipping alliances, with the cooperation’s stake on the Asia-Europe and Asia-Pacific trades not reaching 30 percent.

It added that this is expected to fast-track the launch of the alliance to as early as December this year.

CMA CGM announced on September 8 an alliance with CSCL and UASC to form a service cooperation in the world’s key maritime markets.

The company, regarded as the world’s third largest container shipping line, said in an official statement that it has signed three agreements with CSCL and UASC to provide joint services under the name Ocean Three on the following trade lanes: Asia-Europe, Asia-Mediterranean, trans-Pacific, and Asia-United States East Coast.

The agreements, which are now pending authorization from the FMC, are a combination of vessel sharing, slot exchange, and slot charter agreements.

The collaboration on the Asia-Europe trade entails four weekly services, which complete the two existing services, thereby offering six departures per week.

The joint service on the Asia-Mediterranean trade will involve four weekly services, two to the Mediterranean, one to the Adriatic, and one to the Black Sea, which CMA CGM said is the only one on this market.

On the trans-Pacific, there will be four weekly services to California and one service to the Pacific Northwest (United States and Canada)

On the Asia-U.S. East Coast trade, the Ocean Three will offer one service via the Suez Canal and one service dedicated to the Gulf of Mexico.

The agreements on the trans-Atlantic trade are still being finalized and will soon be announced, said CMA CGM.

“This new offering will combine both speed and reliability,” it continued. “Rotations will be optimized with calls in all the biggest Asian, European and North American ports, using transshipment hubs common to the three partners.”

It further claimed that the number of weekly calls proposed and the transit times “will be among the best on the market.”

Rodolphe Saade, CMA CGM vice chairman, said the agreements “will allow us to propose to our clients a high-quality and reliable alternative to existing services on the market.”

The creation of the alliance follows the 2M partnership formed by Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) in July that is expected to be introduced early next year should it get approved by U.S., Chinese, and European competition regulators.

Maersk and MSC had left out of their 2M partnership CMA CGM, which was their original partner in the earlier proposed alliance P3 involving all three leading shipping lines that was eventually jettisoned.

The P3 was rejected by China’s maritime watchdog after getting the green light from the U.S. and Europe for overshooting the limit on market share in Asia. Maersk and MSC subsequently formed the smaller 2M without CMA CGM in a bid to increase their chances of getting the nods of all relevant maritime regulatory agencies.

Photo: zigazou76