Vessels such as Ane Maersk power the carrier’s role in the operational East-West Network alongside partner Hapag-Lloyd—an alliance designed to boost schedule reliability while accelerating decarbonization across primary global trade lanes.
beginning in January 2026, the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) required ocean carriers to cover 100% of applicable emissions to, from, and within the EU. This effectively adds $50 to $100 per metric ton to fuel costs on European routes. FuelEU Maritime further penalizes vessels using conventional fuels. While carriers are investing in LNG, methanol, and ammonia-ready vessels, their investments also drive up costs. “This is a structural freight cost floor that shippers need to budget for, independent of whatever rate volatility the market delivers,” Augustin says. BEST THING SINCE WATER While the challenges are daunting, carriers are taking multiple steps to address them. A key one is the formation of global alliances between carriers (see box, page 34, for more information ). Through the alliances, the carriers remain competitors but share vessel space. Maersk has indicated that one such alliance, The East-West Network, is “the best thing to happen to shipping since water.” This network is made possible by Gemini Cooperation, the name given to the collaboration between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd. Gemini achieved schedule reliability above 90%, according to Hapag-Lloyd. When individual routes are disrupted, carriers that operate within a coordinated alliance often have more flexibility to
redeploy capacity, consolidate sailings, and protect schedule integrity than do carriers operating independently. The alliances aren’t a panacea. Taking a hub-and-spoke approach, as many alliances do, can boost schedule reliability, but it can mean the cargo will take a more circuitous journey and require transshipping, says Guillaume Bournisien, managing director, freight forwarding, USA and Canada, with GEODIS. The concentration of carriers can also lead to fewer independent options on major trade lanes, reducing shippers’ leverage in negotiations. In addition, data standardization between ocean carriers is currently a question mark, Anand says. As a result, data may work differently, even between
carriers within the same network. Shippers then need to create models to standardize the data so it is useful in decision-making. The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) does offer a reference page that shows which carriers have adopted which standards, says Lauren Beagen, chief executive officer and founder of The Maritime Professor. In addition to forming alliances, some carriers are boosting regional connectivity. Crowley, for instance, recently added a weekly express service connecting Port Houston with markets in Guatemala and Honduras. This will help customers move goods efficiently across the Central America, U.S. and Caribbean trade lanes, with fewer handoffs, plus a broader equipment mix.
MSC continues to widen its gap at the helm of global container shipping, targeting a projected 10 million TEUs by 2030, while carriers such as CMA CGM and COSCO steadily scale to consolidate their positions among the industry’s elite.
Source: Linerlytica
October 2026 • Inbound Logistics 33
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