by Lloyd's List

13 September 2024 (Lloyd's List) - Ocean Network Express has announced an option to re-route services around the Cape of Good Hope, matching its main competitors.

ONE had said earlier this week — when it announced its Asia-Europe, Transpacific, Asia-Middle East main trade lane products for the Premier Alliance, alongside HMM and Yang Ming, due to began in February 2025 — that it was monitoring developments in the Red Sea and would update the rotations and routing around the Cape of Good Hope in due course.

The Japanese line has now revealed the services that will be re-routed the long way around the south of Africa.

The rotations affected are FP1, FN2, FE3, FE4, FE5, FE6 and IOX on the the Asia-North Europe routes. 

On Asia-Med, MD1, MS2, MD3, MD4 and IOM are the services affected.

Finally, on the Asia-US east coast, the EC3 is the only loop affected.

The main ports potentially affected by the longer re-routing option are Mediterranean transhipment ports such as Damietta and Tangier, which will be dropped from the rotations if the Cape of Good Hope routing is used.

Earlier this week, Gemini Co-operation, the alliance of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, announced that it had plans for two separate sets of routings via the Suez Canal or the Cape of Good Hope and would announce a final decision as soon as next month.

Rival standalone carrier Mediterranean Shipping Company has also announced similar dual option network routings.  

The Premier Alliance combination of the top three Japanese container lines and its partners HMM and Yang Ming have a combined fleet size of 416 vessels.