French container shipping giant CMA CGM Group and specialised reefer transporter Seatrade Group have decided to restructure the vessel sharing agreement (VSA) reached earlier this year.
Under the VSA, unveiled in July 2017, the companies intended to link Northern Europe, the East Coast of the United States, Central America, the Pacific Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Peru and the Caribbean on a weekly basis. The deal was to incorporate the services known by CMA CGM as PAD and by Seatrade as Meridian.
The VSA “will not proceed in its intended form,” Seatrade said, adding that the company has in recent months evaluated its global strategic options considering current market conditions, including the future involvement in the Meridian service.
The revised service will be upgraded to a weekly service as from January 2018, and will among other vessels utilize Seatrade’s fully cellular and geared 2,200 TEU Colour Class specialized container vessels, combined with container equipment currently controlled by Seatrade.
“Seatrade is pleased to have reached this agreement with CMA CGM securing continuation, schedule reliability and highest possible service level for Seatrade’s major customers in the trade,” the company said.
The parties earlier informed that the service, which is set to improve the supply of transport between Australia and the United States, would feature 13 ships with a nominal capacity between 2,200 and 2,500 TEUs.
