COPENHAGEN: The 2M Alliance partners Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and ZIM has announced the agreement to extend their strategic cooperation 

to cover select 2M services also on 

the Asia - US West Coast and Asia - Mediterranean trade lanes.

Between Asia and the US West Coast, the TP9 service will be operated as a VSA string where ZIM will operate four (4) vessels and 2M will operate three (3) vessels. Part of the ZIM slots on the TP9 will be swapped for access to slots on the fully 2M operated 

TP8 service. There will be 

no schedule changes to the TP8 and 

TP9 services.

Between Asia and the Mediterranean, ZIM gets access to 

2M slots on the AE12 and AE15 services. There will be no changes to the AE12 and AE15 schedules, which were announced in December 2018 as part of an network upgrade to further improve Maersk schedule reliability between Asia and Europe/Mediterranean.

“Having successfully implemented our strategic cooperation, we are very pleased to expand the partnership with ZIM into additional geographies. This agreement delivers mutual benefits to both parties, for Maersk it provides operational efficiencies that will enable our continued drive to deliver competitive and reliable products for our customers in the world’s most comprehensive East-West network,” says Søren Toft, Chief Operating Officer, A.P. Moller - Maersk.

ZIM President & CEO Eli Glickman said, “We are very proud to team up with the two largest players in the industry and to expand our cooperation with the 2M Alliance. The new strategic Agreement means faster and more efficient service with better geographic coverage and extended direct port calls for the benefit of our customers, in line with our vision to provide best-in-class service. We will significantly increase our ability to provide the ‘best of both worlds’: top-level line coverage combined with our exceptional customer service and personal touch. The agreement is a game-changer, and 

I am confident it will support ZIM’s growth and profitability.”