THE Alliance's biggest liner Hapag-Lloyd
has signed a slot charter deal with rival 2M alliance partners Maersk
and MSC to start in March, reports London's Loadstar.
The revised network features five
Asia-North Europe loops, which will include the deployment of two
20,000-plus TEU ships supplied by HMM.
"The addition of these services will enable Hapag-Lloyd to offer an even
higher frequency of weekly departures and more routing options, as well
as to directly serve additional ports with high schedule reliability,"
said a company statement.
News came just a day after THE Alliance unveiled its expanded service
network incorporating South Korean carrier HMM as a new partner from
April. Details of the 2M loops or services it would use would be
communicated "in the upcoming weeks".
But the crossover deal may undermine the cause of carriers in getting
back their Block Exemption Regulation (BER), which is due to expire in
April.
The European Commission has proposed that the BER, which allows carriers
to participate in operational alliances with a market share of up to 30
per cent on trades serving the EU, be extended until 2024. But shippers
oppose the EC's decision to extend the BER saying ignores their views.
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