The 2025 Carrier Alliance Reshuffle: Defining the 'Winners and Losers' Among European Ports

At the start of 2025, the global container shipping industry witnessed its largest carrier alliance reshuffle in over a decade. As 2025 progresses, the impacts of this redrawing of global service maps are becoming increasingly clear, creating "winners" and "losers" within the European seaport system.

According to an analysis from the Danish maritime consultancy Sea-Intelligence on the impact of the alliance restructuring on the Asia-Europe trade, there has been a consolidation of market power into hubs like Hamburg and Valencia, to the detriment of established gateways such as Antwerp and Tangier.

Sea-Intelligence's research shows that the Spanish port of Algeciras has seen a slight increase in total monthly nominal capacity, despite a decrease in the average size of vessels calling at the port. This suggests the port's new role is to handle more calls from smaller service loops in the new era of the Gemini Cooperation, Premier Alliance, Ocean Alliance, and a standalone MSC.

Conversely, the Greek port of Piraeus saw its total monthly nominal capacity fall despite attracting larger vessels. Sea-Intelligence described this in its latest weekly report as a "quality over quantity" approach, with fewer but higher-tier service calls.

The Sea-Intelligence analysis indicates that, with significant gains in port call frequency, average vessel size, and total monthly nominal capacity, the German port of Hamburg is the undisputed main beneficiary of the 2025 network restructuring. Notably, MSC, the world's largest container line, now holds a 49% stake in the port. Data from rival consultancy Alphaliner shows that Hamburg recorded a 9.3% increase in port throughput in the first half of this year, reaching 4.2 million TEU. According to Alphaliner, calls by vessels over 10,000 TEU have jumped by a sharp 50%, while calls by ships over 24,000 TEU have soared by 30%.

While the port of Rotterdam remains in a league of its own among European ports, the decline in performance for competing hubs like Antwerp and Tangier indicates the loss of cornerstone services, according to Sea-Intelligence.

See more:

• International Shipping and Logistics Market Update - Week 36/2025 | Phaata
• August Air Cargo Market: Rates in a Lull Ahead of a Peak Season Tipped to Shift Away from China
• Ocean Rates Flatline Despite Falling Volumes, Challenging Carrier GRI Efforts
• Market Paradox: Secondhand Containership Prices Surge Despite Plummeting Freight Rates
• COSCO SHIPPING Ports' H1 2025 Net Profit Jumps Over 30% Despite Global Volatility
• Golden Week 2025: Market Braces for Last-Minute Blank Sailings on the Transpacific
• COSCO schedules: Vietnam - North America in Sep 2025
• COSCO updates Vietnam-North Europe sailing schedules in Sep 2025
• SITC updates Vietnam-Intra Asia sailing schedules in Sep 2025

Source: Phaata.com (According to Splash247)

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