The Danish container carrier has decided to discontinue its existing Southeast Asia to Australia network, which, as the company noted, has been performing below its global standards on reliability.
Maersk’s brand-new network will consist of three new services, Greater Australia Connect (GAC), Eastern Australia Connect (EAC) and Western Australia Connect (WAC). The three new services will connect the five main Australian ports of Adelaide, Brisbane, Fremantle, Melbourne, and Sydney to the world via the ports of Singapore and Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia.
The new products will replace the Cobra and Komodo services and are expected to simplify and connect customers’ end-to-end supply chain, while also future-proofing Australia’s international and domestic cargo connection, according to the Danish firm.
Maersk will deploy 16 ships on the new network, whose implementation is subject to relevant regulatory filings and will be implemented upon final clearance in relevant jurisdictions.
The Copenhagen-based box line said the first sailings under the new network are scheduled for March.
“During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have made significant investments in our network in Oceania to keep the supply chain moving. With the introduction of our new Australia/Southeast Asia network, we will restore reliability and flexibility of our Australian customers’ supply chain. Our new network also offers a superior Australia coastal connection to enable domestic trade routes and multimodal transport options for our customers in Australia,” commented My Therese Blank, Maersk’s head of Oceania exports.
