By GMM News | 2025-02-05 | International Shipping News |

The container shipping industry faces major changes as Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd launch their Gemini Cooperation on Saturday, February 1, 2025. This new partnership aims to deliver industry-leading reliability of over 90% through an innovative hub-and-spoke network.

The network will deploy approximately 340 vessels and operate 57 services, including 29 mainline and 28 intraregional shuttle services. With a total capacity of 3.7 million TEU, the network will focus on East-West trades.

“Launching the new network is a great opportunity for all of us. With our targeted schedule reliability, we will satisfy one of our customers’ most important needs even better and set a new quality standard in the industry,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd.

The transition period is expected to continue until late May, with June 2025 being the first full month of complete network operations.

Alliances Reshuffle

This restructuring marks a major shift in the global shipping alliance landscape as MSC and Maersk end their decade-old 2M Alliance, while Hapag-Lloyd is departing THE Alliance to form the new Gemini Cooperation.

With Hapag-Lloyd’s departure from the THE Alliance, Ocean Network Express (ONE), HMM, and Yang Ming Marine Transportation will establish the “Premier Alliance.” Set to launch in February pending a decision from the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), this five-year partnership will concentrate on major East-West trade routes between Asia, North America, and Europe.

Meanwhile, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world’s largest shipping line by far with around 20% market share, plans to operate independently.

Due to security concerns in the Red Sea, the Gemini network will route vessels via the Cape of Good Hope—a decision announced in October 2024. Routes through the Red Sea will resume only when security conditions improve.

In this new industry landscape, the Ocean Alliance—consisting of CMA CGM, Evergreen, Cosco, and OOCL—emerges as the market leader, while the Gemini Cooperation is set to run the smallest number of weekly sailings among major alliances in 2025.

Johan Sigsgaard, Chief Product Officer of Ocean at Maersk, emphasized the careful planning behind the transition: “Over the last year, we have carefully planned this to ensure that all our customers experience a smooth transition into the new network. With its innovative design, we believe our customers will benefit from increased reliability, flexibility and more competitive products”.