COPENHAGEN, Sept 10 (Askume) – Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) and Hapag-Lloyd (HLAG.DE) said on Tuesday they would join a coalition announced earlier this year if shipping disruptions in the Red Sea continue to worsen.
Since late last year, attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea have forced shipping lines to reroute through the Suez Canal and around Africa instead, putting a greater strain on capacity because of the longer journey.
In January this year, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd said they had agreed on a new cooperation starting in February 2025 to transport 3.4 million containers per year through a fleet of 290 vessels, which will be operated by Hapag-Lloyd Special Operations.It is called the Gemini Collaboration .
But the two shipping giants said on Tuesday that if chaos in the Red Sea persists, cooperation could be expanded to 340 vessels to jointly transport 3.7 million containers.
He added that joint efforts between the two parties will help Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk provide more frequent and flexible services, making their operations more efficient and reliable.
Maersk said the two companies would announce in October this year whether to implement the original plan of relying on the Red Sea and the Suez Canal or adopt an alternative plan of sailing around Africa with a larger fleet.
Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk have set an ambitious goal of delivering more than 90% schedule reliability once the network is fully rolled out, with Denmark’s Maersk providing 60% of the vessels and Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd providing 40% of the vessels. January.
