24 January 2024 (Lloyd's List) - MEMBERS of The Alliance, the vessel sharing agreement between Hapag-Lloyd, Ocean Network Express, HMM and Yang Ming, have sought to reassure the market following the announcement that Hapag-Lloyd will leave the group next January.

The move comes after last week's announcement that Hapag-Lloyd, a founder member of The Alliance, will instead join forces with Maersk in what the two carriers have termed the Gemini Co-operation.

In a joint statement, all four lines in The Alliance said:

"In response to recent developments surrounding The Alliance, which includes member lines Hapag-Lloyd, HMM, Yang Ming Marine Transport, and Ocean Network Express, we wish to emphasise our unwavering commitment to maintaining a robust co-operation throughout 2024, ensuring that the highest standards of co-operation and exceptional service are delivered to our stakeholders and the industry at large."

They confirmed the alliance's network and services, last updated in December, would remain in place until the end of January 2025.

After that point, the future of The Alliance becomes less certain.

The Alliance agreement, which was updated when HMM joined in 2020, runs until 2030 but any line can withdraw from The Alliance with 12 months' notice, which Hapag-Lloyd has now done.

That will leave The Alliance as the smallest grouping in the sector, sitting behind the Ocean Alliance, the Gemini Co-operation and standalone Mediterranean Shipping Co on the major east-west trades.

"Potentially, The Alliance might continue operations without Hapag-Lloyd," said analysts at Alphaliner.

"Although the carrier is ranked fifth globally, with ONE in sixth position, the Hamburg-based shipping line is not the main tonnage contributor of The Alliance."

That honour went to ONE, which supplies 38.7% of the group's capacity, while Hapag-Lloyd provides 26.2%.

The remaining members of The Alliance collectively contribute 2.3m teu on joint services. By comparison, the slightly wider remit of the Gemini Co-operation will have a joint deployment of 3.4m teu.

Beyond 2025, The Alliance will find itself in a much weaker position, Alphaliner noted, although it would still have a strong position on the transpacific.

"A continuation of the present The Alliance co-operation with three carriers would significantly weaken its position on the transatlantic, where HMM is not active and Yang Ming is only slotting on selected loops," it said.

"The situation is very different for the Asia-North America trade, where ONE is currently providing 41.1% of all alliance capacity and Hapag-Lloyd only 21.4%. The Alliance could continue trading if it would reduce the number of weekly loops (currently 12) by around one fifth."

Alphaliner also suggested Taiwan's Wan Hai, which does not sit among any of the global alliances, as a potential new partner for The Alliance, with its fleet of 13,000 teu vessels, which will amount to 18 ships once they are all delivered.