The two men leading Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk into the new Gemini Cooperation joined together on stage at the Xeneta Summit in Amsterdam on 17 October to reinforce their confidence in the new alliance achieving its ambition of 90% service reliability.
The Gemini Cooperation, which comprises the two ocean container shipping giants, will begin operating on 1 February next year, with a new hub and spoke approach of mainliner and transshipment services designed to increase reliability. Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, and Kenni Skotte, Vice President and Head of Ocean Network Product at Maersk, took part in a panel discussion at the Xeneta Summit in Amsterdam on Thursday to answer questions on how Gemini can achieve its ambition of 90% service reliability when global reliability across all ocean container shipping carriers in the market stands at 53%.
We are confident of the 90% number because we believe we can do it. But I recognize when people look at schedule reliability in the market today it’s hard to imagine. If we sit here again next year, we will have a very different discussion because by then we will have been able to prove that it works.
… said Skotte
Gemini Cooperation will cover seven trades and offer 57 services including mainliner and dedicated shuttle services. Habben Jansen and Skotte both told the Xeneta Summit that increasing use of transshipment networks will allow for more stable and reliable services for shippers.
Habben Jansen indicated that transshipment services were set to increase from 35% to 45%, but he emphasized that they would implement this change in a more structured and planned manner at the hubs they control. He mentioned that these hubs had more capacity than strictly necessary, describing this as a deliberate choice. He stated that their purpose for operating the hubs was not to generate profit, but rather to ensure the network functioned effectively. He noted that they would have more cranes and more space than would typically be available at multiple terminals.
Furthermore, he expressed that their confidence stemmed from the design of the entire system, which focused on the ability to isolate delays. He contrasted this with the current situation, where a minor delay often snowballed into significant disruptions, creating a ripple effect throughout the network.
The Gemini Cooperation recently confirmed its ships will sail around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa when it begins operating in February due to ongoing conflict in the Red Sea. Both Skotte and Habben Jansen confirmed this will not impact Gemini’s target of 90% reliability.
Habben Jansen stated that in the current challenging environment, their network was capable of covering both scenarios -whether through the Red Sea passage or around the Cape of Good Hope- while ensuring they maintained the same industry-leading reliability.
The Gemini Cooperation is designed in response to the evolving needs of our customers in an increasingly dynamic and volatile industry. In this context, our hub-and-spoke model allows us to operate a lean network by leveraging central hubs, all while preserving the global coverage our customers have come to rely on.
… Habben Jansen added.
Finally, Skotte highlighted that they believed their new innovative ocean network would significantly enhance schedule reliability for the benefit of their customers and establish a new, very high standard in the industry.