The big three P3 mega alliance will miss the July and August peak season as its members prefer not to move when a postponement would give them a smooth start, according to Shipping Gazette.

"One reasons we are thinking of deferring to autumn is that we don't want to move a lot of ships within services during the peak shipping season," said Maersk's north Asia chief Tim Smith.

This is no fault of the regulatory process of gaining approvals from Europe and China expected mid-year, reported Lloyd's List. The partners - Maersk, CMA CGM and MSC - have already received approval from the US Federal Maritime Commission.

Maersk country manager Jens Eskelund said China's Ministry of Commerce will provide feedback to P3 in June, after which he expected a further 90-day review.