In order to obtain the agreement reached with the South Korean airline by the U.S. Federal Commission (FMC), Maersk and MSC had to agree that 2M cargo would only be loaded onto HMM vessels "with the explicit consent of customers." "We are very proud to work with the two largest players in the sector and to develop our cooperation with the 2M Alliance. The new strategic agreement means faster and more efficient service, with better geographic coverage and extensive direct calls for our customers, in line with our vision to provide quality service. We will greatly increase our ability to offer the best of both worlds: high-level online coverage combined with our outstanding customer service and personal rating. The agreement is a disruptive factor and I am confident that it will support the growth and profitability of ZIM. A Vehicle Sharing Agreement (VSA) is a cooperation between shipping companies to meet demand on certain trade routes through the sharing of maritime space. Vessel Sharing Agreements are agreements that you usually enter into between partners within an alliance to operate a regular service on certain lines as partners. The space for each partner can vary from port to port and depends on individual entries per company. A vessel Sharing Agreement is limited to a specific trade route. On the other hand, a maritime alliance is a set of VSA and more global. He added that the agreement would bring "reciprocal benefits to both parties," with maersk Line achieving "operational efficiencies" through the new cooperation, which is expected to begin in March after approval by regulators. Zim President and General Manager Eli Glickman said the new deal with 2M would see Zim`s four ships and three 2M ships operate on the TP9/Maple loop in Seattle and Vancouver, and slots on the TP8/Orient channel in Prince Rupert, as well as access to slots on Maersk and MSC`s Asia-Mediterranean services. Maersk will bring about 110 ships with 1.2 million teu in the capacity of the alliance, while 75 will come with a capacity of 0.9 million MSC TEUs.
Maersk Line and MSC announced a 10-year ship sharing agreement starting in 2014. The agreement includes 185 vessels with a capacity of 2.1 million TEUs. Maersk contributes to 110 ships/1.2 million TEUs. MSC adds 75 ships/900k TEUs to the alliance. It is now the largest entry in navigation from south Hamburg (part of Maersk). 2M serves 44 regular routes between Europe, Asia and the United States.