Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd partner to form Gemini Cooperation network

Maersk A/S, an entity under A.P. Moller – Maersk, and Hapag-Lloyd AG plan to launch their operational collaboration Gemini Cooperation in February 2025 with the goal of delivering “a flexible and interconnected ocean network with industry-leading schedule reliability above 90 percent once fully phased in.”

The two companies first revealed their plans for the long-term collaboration in January of this year and have been working to finalize the details of the operational collaboration, which covers a joint ocean freight network on East-West trades.

The Gemini Cooperation network would be comprised of a fleet pool of approximately 290 vessels with a combined capacity of 3.4 million 20-foot-equilvalent unit (TEU) containers, with Maersk deploying 60 percent and Hapag-Lloyd deploying 40 percent, according to the companies’ initial announcement.

In early October, Maersk, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Hapag-Lloyd, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, shared finalized service maps and how the network has evolved since the January announcement. The companies have presented an alternative Cape of Good Hope network in response to the ongoing disruptions in the Red Sea. That network will include 29 mainliner services supported by 28 intraregional shuttle services and will be operated by a fleet of approximately 340 vessels with a total capacity of 3.7 million TEUs, the companies say. It covers the Asia/U.S. West Coast, Asia/U.S. East Coast, Asia/Middle East, Asia/Mediterranean, Asia/North Europe, Middle East – India/Europe and Transatlantic trade scopes.

As a consequence of joining Gemini Cooperation, Hapag-Lloyd will leave THE Alliance at the end of January 2025. After Hapag-Lloyd’s departure from THE Alliance, the remaining members, ONE, HMM and Yang Ming, will have a combined capacity of just 2.5 million TEUs, calling into question its competitiveness, according to an article by The Loadstar, which also reports that the Ocean Alliance members, CMA CGM, Cosco and Evergreen, have announced they are extending their cooperation to 2032, precluding them from joining THE Alliance.

Vincent Clerc, CEO of Maersk, says, “We believe our collaboration will raise the bar for reliability to the benefit of our customers and set a new and very high standard in the industry.”

Maersk has a fleet of around 700 owned and chartered vessels with a total capacity of more than 4 million TEUs. APM Terminals, an affiliate of Maersk, operates 60 ports and terminals across 33 countries under the APM Terminals brand or together with a joint venture partner.

Hapag-Lloyd has a fleet of 287 container ships and a total transport capacity of 2.2 million TEUs. In the Liner Shipping segment, the company employs roughly 13,700 people and has 400 offices in 140 countries. Hapag-Lloyd has a container capacity of 3.2 million TEUs and a total of 114 liner services worldwide between more than 600 ports on all the continents. In the Terminal & Infrastructure segment, Hapag-Lloyd has equity stakes in 20 terminals in Europe, Latin America, the United States, India and North Africa. Around 2,900 employees are assigned to the Terminal & Infrastructure segment.