A new collaboration between two of the world’s largest container shipping firms has been postponed by the US government’s maritime business regulator over competition concerns.
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) said it needs “more information” on the alliance between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, known as the Gemini Cooperation.
Gemini was supposed to begin legally on 15 July 2024, but will now be delayed by the request for information, which the FMC said it will analyse for impacts on competition in the US shipping market.
The companies made a filing with the Commission on their bilateral agreement on 31 May this year, which would have allowed the Cooperation to begin 45 days later, without the Request for Additional Information (RFAI).
The RFAI is used to “identify and achieve clarity” on areas of the deal or agreement the FMC has seen as insufficient or incomplete.
“The Commission has determined that the Gemini Cooperation Agreement as submitted lacks sufficient detail to allow for a complete analysis of its potential competitive impacts,” the FMC explained.
“Re-consideration of the agreement will not commence until the Commission has received a fully compliant response to its inquiry,” it added.
This means the Maersk-Hapag collaboration will not be approved in the US for at least another 45 days after the information is received by the Commission.
The RFAI will be published officially next week, and a public comment period of 15 days will then begin.
Neither Maersk nor Hapag-Lloyd have yet commented on the delay to their agreement, which was announced in January when Hapag left THE Alliance in favour of the bilateral agreement.
Gemini Cooperation will consist of a 290-vessel fleet, a 60-40 split between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, with a target of achieving schedule reliability of more than 90%.
“By entering this cooperation, we will be offering our customers a flexible ocean network that will be raising the bar for reliability in the industry. This will strengthen our integrated logistics offering and meet our customers’ needs,” Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said at the time.
