Wednesday, September 10, 2014
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CMA CGM announces Ocean Three alliance with China Shipping Container Lines and United Arab Shipping Company
French shipping giant CMA CGM announced the signature of three major agreements with CSCL and UASC to form the Ocean Three vessel sharing agreement, to collectively ply the Asia-Europe, Asia-Mediterranean, TransPacific and Asia-U.S East Coast trades.
"We are very pleased to have signed these three agreements with such reputable partners, whom we both know and appreciate," said Rodolphe Saadé, CMA CGM vice chairman. "This will allow us to propose to our clients a high quality and reliable alternative to existing services on the market. CMA CGM will continue its global development."
CMA CGM reports the deals involve vessel sharing, slot exchange and slot charter agreements that will complete its services on the four biggest trade routes. On the Asia-Europe trade, Ocean Three will offer 4 weekly services, which complete 2 existing services, thereby offering 6 departures per week.
On the Asia-Mediterranean trade, the new alliance will offer 4 weekly services, 2 to the Mediterranean, 1 to the Adriatic and 1 to the Black Sea—the only one on this market, according to the statement. On the trans-Pacific, the prospective group will offer 4 weekly services to California and 1 service to the Pacific Northwest (U.S and Canada), and on the Asia-U.S. East Coast trade, 1 service will be offered via the Suez Canal and 1 service will be dedicated to the Gulf of Mexico.
CMA CGM's new deal would not need regulatory approval from China or the European Union as the partners would have less than 30 percent market share on Asia-Europe and Asia-Pacific routes, Vice Chairman Rodolphe Saade told Reuters, but it will need approval from the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission.
"It is going to be possible to implement the agreement very swiftly, with a launch planned for week 49, or early December," Saade said by telephone to Reuters.
CMA CGM said agreements on the trans-Atlantic trade are being finalized and will soon be announced.
Ocean Three rotations will be optimized with calls in all the biggest Asian, European and North American ports, the statement said, using transshipment hubs common to the three partners.
"I think this phenomenon (of alliances) is going to grow. People talk a lot about east-west but we also have partnerships on north-south routes even if it's not yet on the same scale," Saade said.
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