GEMINI COOPERATION, the entity formed by Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to unify their operations on East-West Routes from early 2025, has decided to launch its suite of services via the Cape of Good Hope.
“After thorough consideration, and given the continued safety concerns in the Red Sea, Hapag-Lloyd AG (Hapag-Lloyd) and Maersk A/S (Maersk), an entity under A.P. Moller – Maersk, confirm that they expect to phase in their Cape of Good Hope network for the commencement of the Gemini Cooperation on 1 February 2025,” Maersk announced in Europe last night [9 October].
“As the situation remains highly dynamic, Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk will return to the Red Sea when it is safe to do so.”
For its part Hapag-Lloyd said: “On 10 September, we announced the two network options considering the ongoing disruptions in the Red Sea. As we get closer to the official start of our cooperation with Maersk, we have jointly decided to phase in the Cape of Good Hope Network in February 2025. The safety and well-being of our seafarers, our vessels and the cargo of our customers are key, and we expect to return to the Red Sea once it is safe again.”
For Maersk, the Gemini Cooperation succeeds its 2M partnership with MSC while Hapag-Lloyd is withdrawing from THE Alliance to join Maersk.
Maersk says the Gemini Cooperation’s ambition is to deliver industry-leading schedule reliability of above 90% once fully phased in, “ensuring efficient and flexible services across the East-West trades”. The Cape of Good Hope network will include 29 mainliner services supported by 28 intraregional shuttle services and will be operated by a fleet of around 340 vessels with a total capacity of 3.7 million TEU.
The hub-and-spoke approach of Gemini’s ‘Network of the Future’ is not a strategy favoured by the go-it-alone (for the most part) MSC, whose chief executive Soren Toft believes direct port calls best serve changing supply chain needs.
“Supply chains are no longer centred around just a few countries, and no longer rely on one or two major markets, but are becoming more dispersed and we believe that requires a broader port coverage in the network,” he told the World Ports Conference in Hamburg last week.
“We made the decision to walk alone because we have the fleet, but also because it gives us the agility to respond to the challenges in the world.”
