CN

Cosco-CMA CGM plan with OOCL, Evergreen, would wreck most alliances

Time：2016-02-18 Browse：155 Author：RISINGSUN
A NEW mega alliance appears to be forming as French shipping giant CMA CGM and China Cosco lead efforts to set up a new carrier partnership that may yet include Hong Kong`s Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), reports Paris-based Alphaliner. 

OOCL is understood to be reviewing its options after a high-level meeting with CMA CGM and Cosco in late January, said the Paris-based research house.

The plan is to include OOCL and Taiwan`s Evergreen that may well split up three of today`s four main east-west alliances and leave Ocean Three, CKYHE and G6 alliances in tatters.

CMA CGM already stated that it will pull APL out of the G6, once it takes over Singapore`s APL in the second half of the year. The Marseilles-based carrier has also expressed the hope that the merged Cosco-CSCL will join the Marseilles-based carrier in a new alliance partnership. 

But Cosco has yet to reveal any post-merger alliance plans to follow its acquisition of CSCL`s container shipping operations, due to be finalised by the end of February. 

Meanwhile, Evergreen is in a mourning for its late founder Chang Yung-Fa and is not expected to make any announcements until the month-long silent period is over. 

Said Alphaliner: "While the new alliance`s final composition could still change, the driving factor behind the proposed four-carrier `CCEO` set-up is clear: The motivation is to from a strong and stable alliance that could challenge the 2M`s dominance in the east - west trades and to distance the `CCEO` from some of the weaker partners within the current alliances, which could be facing financial distress."