Members of the OCEAN Alliance extend agreement from 2027 through 2032

Global container liner members of the OCEAN Alliance recently announced they have signed documents to extend their agreement for five years, running through March 21, 2032.

The OCEAN Alliance, which is comprised of CMA CGM, COSCO SHIPING, Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), and Evergreen, was established in April 2017.

The carriers explained that since its inception, the OCEAN Alliance comprises what it called the world’s largest shipping network, delivering best-in-class transit times, competitive sailing frequencies, and the most extensive port coverage. They added that it covers the seven major East/West trade lanes, which mainly connect Asia to Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and the East and West Coasts of North America.

What’s more, the carriers noted that for the past seven years, the OCEAN Alliance said that, with this extension, they will focus on its key objective, which is to deliver the best service offering to its partners’ respective customers in the coming years.  Another key benefit outlined by the carriers is the delivery of what they called a clear and present signal to its customers focused on ensuring stable and reliable service, while providing high-quality transportation to customers and contribute to a stable supply chain that is in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

“Since 2017, the CMA CGM Group has been committed alongside its partners within the OCEAN Alliance to combine the largest shipping network with best-in class services,” said Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group, in a statement. “The decision to extend our cooperation for at least five more years forges our commitment to meet our customers' needs and build even more secure, reliable and sustainable supply chains. Our diversity is our strength, together we will continue to pioneer our industry!”

Philip Damas, director and head of the supply chain advisors practice at London-based Drewry, told LM that with this extension locked in for another five years, it will continue to be the largest alliance in the container shipping sector, as well as the most stable, with the largest combined order book of new ships.

“In the meantime, the two other alliances (THE Alliance and the 2M alliance) are restructuring,” he said. “There was some speculation that, after the announced departure of Hapag-Lloyd from THE Alliance in 2025 (to form the new Gemini Alliance with Maersk), remaining THE Alliance carriers would try to team up with some Ocean Alliance carriers, but that will now not be happening. In Drewry's view, exporters and importers will need to keep a close eye on which carriers are in which alliances, to make sure that they book their cargo shipments across alliances and reduce over-reliance on just one alliance network.”

The OCEAN Alliance received approval from the Federal Maritime Commission in October 2016.

FMC said at the time that its members can share vessels, charter and exchange space on each other’s ships, and enter into cooperative working agreements in international trade lanes between the United States and ports in Asia, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Canada, Central America, and the Caribbean.

“The Commission worked very hard to balance the needs of not only the Ocean Alliance applicants, but all other parties involved in the intermodal supply chain, with the ultimate goal of safeguarding competition in international ocean borne common carriage, with the American shipping public foremost in mind,” said then-FMC Chairman (and now Port of Long Beach Executive Director) Mario Cordero. “The Agreement going into force represents a consensus of what will allow OCEAN Alliance carriers to achieve efficiencies without harming the marketplace.”