SINGAPORE could benefit as the world's largest shipping lines restructure alliances in the light of major trade routes being redrawn around the Horn of Africa to avoid violence in the Red Sea, reports Singapore's Straits Times.
Denmark's Maersk and Swiss-run MSC, two of the world's largest container shipping lines, will dissolve their existing alliance from February 2025 to reduce costs and improve service coverage.
Trine Nielsen, global head of ocean freight at logistics management firm Flexport, said the restructuring of shipping networks by the Gemini and Premier alliances will not only ensure profitability for the liners, but also benefit their customers, including those in Singapore.
'By directing resources to high-demand ports and reducing imbalances, these changes should improve service reliability and potentially speed up delivery times, benefiting clients and end consumers,' said Ms Nielsen.
She added that with new alliances forming and shipping networks redrawn to optimise efficiency and meet demand, shipping rates, which have surged as a result of disruptions in the Red Sea, should soften and make shipping more affordable for customers.
The anticipated rise in traffic would also come at a time when Singapore is already handling much higher container volumes than before.
This is because more ships are rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa to avoid the Red Sea, with many arriving off-schedule in Singapore as a result of more unpredictable schedules.
Liners are also using Singapore as a transshipment port to unload cargo bound for other ports in the region.
Singapore's ports moved a record total of 27.43 million TEU in the first eight months of the year, up 6.4 per cent on the same period in 2023, noted Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) data.
SeaNews Turkey
Denmark's Maersk and Swiss-run MSC, two of the world's largest container shipping lines, will dissolve their existing alliance from February 2025 to reduce costs and improve service coverage.
Trine Nielsen, global head of ocean freight at logistics management firm Flexport, said the restructuring of shipping networks by the Gemini and Premier alliances will not only ensure profitability for the liners, but also benefit their customers, including those in Singapore.
'By directing resources to high-demand ports and reducing imbalances, these changes should improve service reliability and potentially speed up delivery times, benefiting clients and end consumers,' said Ms Nielsen.
She added that with new alliances forming and shipping networks redrawn to optimise efficiency and meet demand, shipping rates, which have surged as a result of disruptions in the Red Sea, should soften and make shipping more affordable for customers.
The anticipated rise in traffic would also come at a time when Singapore is already handling much higher container volumes than before.
This is because more ships are rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa to avoid the Red Sea, with many arriving off-schedule in Singapore as a result of more unpredictable schedules.
Liners are also using Singapore as a transshipment port to unload cargo bound for other ports in the region.
Singapore's ports moved a record total of 27.43 million TEU in the first eight months of the year, up 6.4 per cent on the same period in 2023, noted Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) data.
SeaNews Turkey
