News
The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has opened a 12-day comment period, allowing interested members of the public to respond to Maersk’s and Hapag-Lloyd’s newly filed vessel sharing agreement, the Gemini Cooperation Agreement.
The deadline for submitting comments next Tuesday. If the FMC takes no action, the Gemini Agreement will become effective on July 15, 2024.
Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd reached the agreement in January, which would, if approved, allow them work together under the new alliance, the Gemini Cooperation, from February 2025.
The new network would comprise a fleet pool of around 290 vessels with a combined capacity of 3.4 million TEUs. Maersk will deploy 60% and Hapag-Lloyd, the remaining 40%. The cooperation will cover seven trades: Asia-North Europe, Asia-Mediterranean, Middle East /India-Europe, Asia-Middle East, Asia-U.S. East Coast, Asia-U.S. West Coast and trans-Atlantic, comprising 26 mainline services. The mainline ocean services will be complemented by a global network of dedicated shuttles centered around owned and controlled transshipment hubs. The shuttle services would be spread as follows: 14 shuttle services in Europe, four in the Middle East, 13 in Asia and one in the Gulf of Mexico.
