China blocks a proposed global shipping alliance

China yesterday blocked a shipping alliance between Denmark’s AP Moeller-Maersk, France’s CMA CGM and the Swiss Mediterranean Shipping Company, Maersk said. The world’s three biggest ocean carriers announced plans for their so-called P3 Network in June last year. Yesterday, “the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China announced that they have not approved the P3 Network”, Maersk chief executive Nils Andersen said. “Subsequently, the partners have agreed to stop the preparatory work on the P3 Network and [it] will not come into existence,” he said, adding that the decision was not expected to affect Maersk’s annual results. The alliance had already been given the greenlight by regulators in Europe and the US and would have enabled Maersk to reduce costs and carbon emissions. However, Andersen said he was “quite confident Maersk Line will accomplish those improvements anyway”. – Sapa-AFP