News / As its fleet grows, MSC maps out its post-2M standalone network

© Sheila Fitzgerald

MSC is preparing its network for a standalone operation after its exits the 2M east-west vessel-sharing agreement with Maersk at the end of next year – although many in the industry believe the split will happen by mutual consent sooner than that.

Sources cite increasingly acrimonious exchanges over vessel-blanking strategies and fierce competition for customers, along with differences over the status of hub ports within the alliance network.

MSC has confirmed that it was Maersk that wanted to terminate the 2M alliance. ...