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The war between Israel and Lebanon, the growing level of confrontation between the Jewish state and Iran, The recent raids conducted against other targets in the area left little doubt about the next possible evolution of world trade routes and the moves of the main carriers.
The first to dissolve them was Gemini, the alliance between Maersk and Hapag Lloyd. Presenting their joint programming last September, starting in February 2025, the duo had envisaged the possibility of starting operations with routes in transit off the Cape of Good Hope but also that, more optimistic, which foresaw the return of ships to the Red Sea. A decision on this was expected in October and, although the two carriers have not released official communications on this subject, This seems to be taken now since on the respective sites only documentation concerning the routes with passage off South Africa is available.
At the moment it is not yet apparent that the main competitor of Gemini, namely Msc, has taken a position, although it had presented its customers with the possibility of starting two different networks depending on the changing geopolitical situation. It is not known whether the Swiss carrier will provide updates in the coming days, If, by virtue of its ‘solo’ operation, MSC believes it can adapt its programming more rapidly in the case – which at present seems extremely unlikely – of a rapidThe escalation of tensions in the Middle East or at least the disappearance of the threat posed by the Houthi for trade by sea. It should also be noted that the Premier Alliance, an alliance between One, Hmm and Yang Ming which is allied to Msc under a slot exchange agreement has not yet released any updates. Like the other colleagues, the Asian trio had unveiled in September a network of services via Suez and alternatively via Good Hope.
Returning to Gemini, in an area of his site dedicated to the alliance Maersk explains that the decision to implement the network with transits off South Africa was taken after “deep analysis” and that this was driven by “lingering concerns for security”, to the extent that it is considered that this is “the only option at this stage”. A return to the Suez passage can only take place, he added, when the safety of crews can be guaranteed.
SOURCE: SHIPPING ITALY EDITORIAL STAFF OF 10/09/2024