COSCO Shipping Lines has announced a blank sailing notice for select Europe-bound services from Shanghai in November 2026, impacting capacity.
COSCO Shipping Lines has issued a blank sailing notice affecting selected Europe-bound services departing from Shanghai in November 2026. This adjustment reduces available capacity on Asia-North Europe and Asia-Mediterranean lanes during a seasonally softer period, requiring freight forwarders, shippers, and importers to reassess bookings, routings, and delivery commitments in the weeks ahead.
COSCO Shipping Lines operates as part of COSCO Shipping Holdings, whose combined container fleet with sister carrier OOCL exceeds 3 million TEU. Through the OCEAN Alliance, a vessel-sharing partnership with CMA CGM and Evergreen extended to 2032, the carrier deploys capacity across the main East-West trades, including the high-volume corridor linking China with Northern Europe and the Mediterranean.
Shanghai sits at the center of this network. The port handled more than 50 million TEU in 2024, the highest throughput of any container port in the world. Capacity decisions taken at Shanghai therefore shape cargo flows into major European gateways, including Rotterdam, Antwerp-Bruges, Hamburg, Piraeus, Valencia, and Genoa.
According to the notice, selected November 2026 Shanghai departures across core Asia-North Europe (AEU) and Asia-Mediterranean (AEM) loops have been withdrawn from the published schedule. Cargo booked on the canceled voyages will generally be rolled to the next available sailing on the same loop or moved to an alternative OCEAN Alliance service, subject to space availability. COSCO has advised customers to contact their local sales or customer service teams for rebooking options and confirmed arrival dates.
