German carrier Hapag-Lloyd and the 2M Alliance of Maersk and MSC have decided to prolong temporary suspensions of some of their services as demand remains at very low levels.
The initial moves occurred during the Covid-19 crisis peak, but as the demand has not recovered the shipping lines are forced to continue their service cancellation strategy with the aim of managing available capacity, thereby utilising the ships that are in operation more efficiently.
Market demand reductions, caused by the pandemic, means that the 2M Alliance has announced the continuation of its TP11/Elephant service suspension until the end of July on the Far East Asia-North America network.
The Danish carrier said, “the service is expected to resume subject to improved market demand”, while MSC agreed that “we will only resume the service when there is a sufficient increase in market demand.”
Far East Asia to North America
The first vessel to be suspended on TP11/Elephant in the third quarter is:
| Week | Trade | Service | Vessel / Voyage | First Load Port / ETD | Last Load Port / ETD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
28
|
FEA – USEC
|
TP11/Elephant
|
Santa Teresa / 028W
|
Laem Chabang / 6 July 2020
|
Tanjung Pelepas / 11 July 2020
|
The 2M Alliance will provide a contingency plan with TP16/TP17 and MECL covering main Asia and ISC/ME flows respectively, while both companies clarified that all port calls on the service will be covered on other services in the companies’ networks.
In light of the above sailings being blanked, the following return voyages will also be blanked.
North America to Far East Asia
The first vessel to be suspended on TP11/Elephant in the third quarter is:
| Week | Trade | Service | Vessel / Voyage | First Load Port / ETD | Last Load Port / ETD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
32
|
USEC – FEA
|
TP11/Elephant
|
Santa Teresa / 032E
|
Newark / 9 August 2020
|
Freeport / 17 August 2020
|
In the meantime, Maersk Line has also implemented an additional blanking plan in June which impacts Far East Asia to/from Indian subcontinent trade.
| Service | Vessel | Voyage (Westbound) | First Port / ETD | Voyage (Eastbound) | First Port / ETD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
FI3
|
MAERSK TAURUS
|
025W
|
Dalian / 19 June 2020
|
029E
|
Jawaharlal Nehru / 19 July 2020
|
|
CHX
|
MEXICO
|
025W
|
Laem Chabang / 27 June 2020
|
028E
|
Ennore / 6 July 2020
|
Furthermore, the Hamburg-based Hapag-Lloyd has also announced it will continue the temporary suspension of its Gothenburg Express (GTE), while it has also decided to suspend another Scandinavian service, the Sweden Denmark Express (SDX) as from week 21.
In the interim period, Hapag-Lloyd said that it will continue to offer weekly sailings to/from Gothenburg, Fredericia, Helsingborg and Oslo, as well to/from Gothenburg, Aarhus, and Copenhagen through its feeder partner Unifeeder.
These changes will provide Hapag-Lloyd’s customers overall with a wider network and increased frequency, according to the German firm.
