Earlier this month, the United States Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) said that the rollout of the Premier Alliance, a strategic partnership among global container shipping services providers Ocean Network Express, HMM, and Yang Ming Marine, will not go into effect as scheduled on Thursday, December 12.
FMC officials explained that “more information is needed [by the FMC] to determine the potential competitive impacts of the arrangement,” as the reason for the delay.
And FMC added that the three carriers filed the Premier Alliance Agreement (FMC Agreement at the Commission on October 28, 2024.
They explained that the agreement authorizes the three entities to share vessels; charter or exchange vessel space; discuss and agree on the size, number, and operational characteristics of vessels operated under the agreement; and engage in other related activities on a global scale, with agreements becoming effective 45 days after filing unless the Commission issues a Request for Additional Information (RFAI) as is being done in this case. It also said that a 15-day comment period will become public upon public notice of the RFAI being published in the Federal Register.
A report in The Loadstar said that the targeted operational start date of the Premier Alliance’s network services remains on track for early February, with the carriers are still operating under THE Alliance vessel-sharing agreement in the interim.
In September, LM reported that Ocean Network Express, HMM, and Yang Ming Marine—announced they will continue to closely collaborate under its new alliance name, Premier Alliance, for five years, effective February 2025.
This alliance is comprised of various mainline services across the major East-West Tradelines: Asia-North America West Coast; Asia-North America East Coast; Asia-Mediterranean; Asia-North Europe; and Asia-Middle East.
Philip Damas, director and head of the supply chain advisors practice at London-based Drewry, told LM that the Premier Alliance is a clarification of the big reshuffle of ocean carrier alliances.
“The renamed ‘Premier Alliance,’ with just 3 carriers, will replace the current ‘THE Alliance,’ following the departure of Hapag-Lloyd to form the competing ‘Gemini Alliance’ with Maersk and the ending of the ‘2M Alliance,’” said Damas. The 3rd alliance, ‘Ocean Alliance,’ will remain as is.
MSC could have been left isolated following the breakup of the 2M alliance with Maersk, according to Damas, but it has announced that it will now cooperate with Zim on the transpacific route and with the Premier Alliance on the Asia-Europe route. He added it is interesting, this will not be a formal, 4th alliance.
“For exporters and importers, it means that there will continue to be three big alliances, plus some narrower cooperation agreements involving MSC,” he said. “Even MSC—the world’s largest carrier—will continue to cooperate with other ocean carriers. Without this, MSC would not have been able to offer the same frequency of services as the big three alliances.”
Jon Monroe, president and founder of Jon Monroe Consulting, explained that this move makes sense, as all carriers are attempting to offer a full complement of services globally.
“The addition of MSC as a slot exchange partner really makes this work in a way that ONE, HMM and YML could not have done on their own,” he said. “It also puts MSC in a better position, given the capacity that they have and expect to have coming online in 2025. Bringing MSC in as a slot exchange partner also helps replace the gap left by the departure of Hapag Lloyd. MSC has 1.8 million TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) still on the order book. This does not account for the 6 million TEU in service. This arrangement helps both parties. Not certain why they had to change the name, though.”
