Maersk has increased its regional capacity in Asia by 52% over the past year, according to  ShippingWatch’s news report. The data, published by Alphaliner, equates the growth to approximately 100,000 TEUs. This expansion places Maersk just behind China’s state-owned COSCO, currently the top carrier in the region.

A key driver of this growth is the launch of the Gemini Cooperation, an alliance between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd. As SeaTrade Maritime reported, the partnership has significantly boosted intra-Asia capacity through a strategic “hub and spoke” model. This system uses a common system of hub ports and regional feeder services, and subsequently, the lines are operating more services across several ports in Asia. Seatrade Maritime said this move underscores the growing strategic importance of the intra-Asia trade lane.

Alphaliner noted in a recent online post that the intra-Asia trade remains highly competitive, with 69 active carriers handling 2.4 million TEU. This represents a 13% year-over-year increase in volume. The analyst pointed out that 87% of the market belongs to the top 20 carriers, with the remaining 13% handled by all other operators.

“Intra-Asia trade, on a region-to-region basis, is currently the largest in the world,” stated Andrew Chien, Director of LCL Development, Asia Pacific at Shipco Transport. “In terms of global containerized ocean freight, intra-Asia volumes have surpassed both the Far East–Europe and Asia–North America corridors.”

Source: SeaTrade Maritime, splash247, Alphaliner, ShippingWatch, Shipco Transport