News / New challenges for mega groups as Ocean Alliance prepares for launch

© Mohamed Ahmed Soliman

Ocean carriers CMA CGM, COSCO Container Lines, Evergreen and OOCL have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to form a new mega-alliance designed to challenge Maersk Line and MSC’s 2M grouping on east-west trades.

Dubbed the Ocean Alliance, the proposed grouping would bring the world’s 3rd, 4th, 5th and 9th biggest container lines together in a vessel-sharing agreement but leave the other top 20 carriers scrambling to compete and stay in the Asia – Europe and transpacific markets.

According to Alphaliner’s data the ...