The Ocean Alliance group of container lines have extended their partnership for five more years, promising a stable and secure supply chain.
Bosses at France’s CMA CGM Group and Asian partners Cosco Shipping, Evergreen and OOCL signed up in Shanghai on Tuesday to work together until 2032.
Liner groupings are undergoing a shake-up following German carrier Hapag-Lloyd’s shock announcement in January that it will leave THE Alliance next year to form a new partnership with Denmark’s AP Moller-Maersk.
Hapag-Lloyd and its partners, South Korea’s HMM, Taiwan’s Yang Ming Marine Transport and Japan’s Ocean Network Express, later pledged “unwavering commitment to maintaining a robust cooperation throughout 2024”.
The rival Ocean Alliance was launched in 2017 and claims to be the world's largest operational shipping network.
“As a sustainable cooperation, Ocean Alliance continues to support customers’ supply chains and business by offering best-in-class shipping solutions through an extensive range of served ports, with direct calls and optimal transit times,” the group said.
The alliance is committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
CMA CGM alone is set to operate more than 120 container ships propelled with alternative green fuels by 2027.
Chief executive Rodolphe Saade said: “Since 2017, the CMA CGM Group has been committed alongside its partners within the Ocean Alliance to combine the largest shipping network with best-in-class services.”
The decision to extend the cooperation for at least five more years shows the group’s commitment to meeting client needs and building even more secure, reliable and sustainable supply chains, he said.
“Our diversity is our strength; together we will continue to pioneer our industry,” he added.
