Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and CMA CGM have announced the signing of a major partnership agreement, designed to improve the two company's respective performances by driving extensive operating synergies and enhancing the quality of service for all customers.
Swiss-Italian group MSC and France-based CMA CGM's operating partnership will cover several trades, including Asia-northern Europe, Asia-southern Africa and all South American markets.
On a certain number of these trade lines, the partnership will enable the groups to deploy the best ships in each of their fleets, while increasing the number of ports of call and frequency of sailings.
'We are very happy to have signed this broad-based partnership, which will unite our two family-owned companies in the years ahead,' said Diego Aponte, vice-president of MSC. 'The agreement offers us new opportunities to optimise the use of our respective fleets, improve our transit times and increase our performance.'
Rodolphe Saadé, executive officer for CMA CGM, also welcomed the partnership.
'For more than 30 years, our two companies have followed the same trajectory and for a number of years we've cooperated on a few lines,' he explained. 'Based on this experience and our shared vision of the shipping industry, we have decided to step up our partnerships, which reflect a commitment to long-term cooperation and will enable us to offer customers improved solutions and services.'
