The Fight is On

All containership carriers are losing money.

Maersk stated they would not lose market share, which we can guess only means
they won't be pushing to raise rates.

So the other carriers are getting together and forming joint services (Vessel Sharing Agreements, VSA's), to at least save some money.

The latest one is Hamburg Süd and MSC

Here is the press release from Hamburg Süd

Hamburg Süd and MSC fuse Mediterranean – South America East Coast Services



Hamburg, 22 December 2011. In view of continuous poor trading conditions and replacing its current service set up, effective from mid January 2012 Hamburg Süd and MSC will restructure their services between the Mediterranean and South America East Coast. The two currently separate services will be fused into one common service that will be operated by eight vessels of 5,900 TEU nominal capacity. Of those, Hamburg Süd is to provide initially one vessel and MSC seven vessels.



The new port rotation will be as follows: Valencia – Gioia Tauro – Livorno – Genoa – Fos – Barcelona – Valencia – Suape – Rio de Janeiro – Santos – Buenos Aires – Montevideo –Rio Grande – Navegantes – Itapoá – Santos – Rio de Janeiro – Suape – Tangier – Valencia.



The new service allows for more comprehensive port coverage in South America and connects to the Hamburg Süd network to Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East destinations via the hub port Tangier.

New Vessel Sharing Agreement - Asia/S. Africa/E.Coast S. America

As can be expected when times get tough, the carriers ban together in Vessel Sharing
Agreements. This allows each to continue service, but with less vessels.

This is what transpired in the 1990's, before there were a bunch of container carriers who finally went bust.

Below is the press release from Hamburg-Sud. There are 5 companies joining together. Hamburg Süd, Maersk, CMA-CGM, CSAV, and CSCL (China Shipping). There is no mention of MSC, who just announced a huge agreement with CMA CGM, so not sure if they will get slots on this service or not.

Dec. 8, 2011


Asia – South Africa/South America East Coast

Hamburg Süd/Maersk Line and CMA-CGM/CSAV/CSCL

Winter Season Restructuring



Hamburg, 8 December 20011. In an effort to balance supply and demand during the forthcoming traditional period of weaker demand, Hamburg Süd and Maersk Line on the one hand and CMA-CGM, CSAV and CSCL on the other, have reached an agreement to combine their services between Asia, South Africa and the East Coast of South America as from December 2011.



Each Group is currently operating two weekly services in the trade. For the period from December 2011 through May 2012, the existing ASAS/NGX Sling 2 service will be merged with the existing ASAX/SEAS Sling 2 service. The current capacity deployed by the carriers in the ASAS/NGX Sling 1 service and ASAX/SEAS Sling 1 service will remain unchanged and independent.



Consequently, the new structure will be as follows:

ASAS/NGX 1: 11 x 7,100 – 7,450 TEU vessels

Participating carriers: Hamburg Süd and Maersk Line



ASAX/SEAS 1: 11 x 6,500 TEU vessels

Participating carriers: CMA-CGM, CSAV, CSCL



New Joint Service: 11 x 4,200 – 4,600 TEU vessels

Participating Carriers: CMA-CGM, CSAV, CSCL, Hamburg Süd, and Maersk Line

Schedule: Shanghai – Ningbo – Nansha – Hong Kong – Chiwan – Tanjung Pelepas – Singapore – Durban – Rio de Janeiro – Santos – Paranagua – Itajai – Santos – Port Elizabeth – Durban – Singapore – Hong Kong – Shanghai



Starting vessel for this New Joint Service will be MV Cap Jackson – Shanghai – December 16th.



The above changes will ensure adequate coverage of- and competitive transit times for the Asia, South Africa and East Coast South America market, both Eastbound and Westbound.