Singapore will serve as a key hub in a new ocean network formed under an alliance between two major container shipping lines. Some 40 vessels transporting eastbound cargo, such as from Europe to Asia, are expected to call at the Singapore port each week under the Gemini Cooperation alliance by Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, which took effect on Feb 1.
Their aim is to have at least 90 per cent of shipments arriving punctually by the time the new schedules are fully phased in, making the two liners industry leaders in schedule reliability, according to their announcements. Approximately 340 vessels with a total capacity of 3.7 million 20-foot containers will be deployed to form the Gemini network, with the first sailings scheduled for Feb 1.
More vessels will be added to the schedule in the coming months, with June marking the first full month of complete network operations. The network will focus on East-West trades. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd’s shared network will consist of 29 main services, which will be supported by 28 intra-regional shuttle services.
This hub-and-spoke strategy, where central “hubs” such as Singapore serve as main stations, and smaller “spokes”, or routes, extend from these hubs to other destinations, will enable both liners to optimise vessel sizes and sailing speeds, reduce idling time, and cut down on carbon emissions.
Gemini’s hub-and-spoke model differs from those of Ocean Alliance and Premier Alliance, and Mediterranean Shipping Company’s traditional port-to-port model, where cargo is delivered from one port directly to another, potentially compounding any delays in the schedule. Still, the Gemini vessels will sail via Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, taking the much longer route to avoid violence in the Red Sea for now, a decision announced in October 2024.
But since the announcement was made, Yemeni rebels have said they will no longer attack US- and British-owned, managed and flagged ships transiting in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, following a Jan 18 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
