Shipping companies expand Ocean Alliance

French container shipping giant CMA CGM has expanded its Ocean Alliance service, signing an agreement with executives from Chinese Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO), ocean carrier Evergreen, and Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) to launch a fourth version of the Ocean Alliance offering, the company said today.

Ocean Alliance Day 4 will launch in April, offering more port calls, more direct links, and better transit times, according to CMA CGM. Enhancements include the use of 325 container ships, 38 services, and an estimated carrying capacity of around 3.8 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units), according to officials. The deal expands service between Europe and Asia and between North Europe and the Americas, including the addition of two Transatlantic services linking North Europe to the U.S. East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico, officials said. Other enhancements include: 

• 19 Transpacific services.
• 7 services between Asia and Europe.
• 4 services between Asia and the Mediterranean.
• 4 services between Asia and the Middle East.
• 2 Asia-Red Sea services.

"One year after the extension of Ocean Alliance until 2027, the launch of the Day 4 Product will enable us to further strengthen the competitiveness and quality of CMA CGM's offer," Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group, said in a statement. "With this agreement, we are pursuing the continuous improvement of our services for the benefit of our customers."