Network of the future

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About the Network

Our Network of the Future will offer our customers a reliable network with global reach and speed.

Delivering for our customers

With the Network of the Future, we are working to meet the following goals for our customers:

Reliability

Ambition to give industry-leading reliability of 90%+ once the new network is fully phased in

Reach

An efficient, far-reaching global network with seamless access to a wide range of products and services

Speed

Competitive transit times, plus fast response to disruptions and demand changes

Serving the world

The Network of the Future covers the Ocean freight network on East West trades and will go live 01 February 2025. The ambition is to reduce network complexity with mostly single operator loops and fewer port calls per service, and incorporate terminals with the highest level of productivity and operational efficiency.

The network will consist of 27/29 lean and efficient ocean mainliner services, and an extensive network of agile, interregional shuttle services. It covers the Asia / US West Coast, Asia / US East Coast, Asia / Middle East, Asia / Mediterranean, Asia / North Europe, Middle East – India / Europe and Transatlantic trade scopes.

We will return to the Red Sea when it is sufficiently safe to do so. As the situation remains highly dynamic, we will be prepared for either scenario. As such, we are presenting two network options in preparation of two scenarios – a return to the Red Sea, or a continuation of the alternative route south of the Cape of Good Hope. Irrespective of whether the Gemini partnership will begin with a Trans Suez or Cape or Good Hope network, the ambition is to provide industry-leading reliability (90% SeaIntel when fully phased in).

Trans Suez Cape of Good Hope

The Gemini Cooperation

To deliver our Network of the Future, we have entered a long-term operational collaboration with Hapag-Lloyd called the Gemini Cooperation. We will prioritise reliability and ensure our new network supports our ambitious sustainability goals.

Our expertise, fleet, terminal asset base, and network vision are complementary, ensuring that this partnership will make a real difference to our customers, our business, and the wider industry.

Download our value proposition

Aiming to offer industry-leading ocean reliability

Ocean connectivity

Our new network’s goal is to deliver a well-connected ocean network that aims to provide unmatched and industry-leading reliability above 90 percent for services under the Gemini scope of trades, when the new network is fully phased in. Reliability will be achieved through a ground-breaking and fundamentally different network design and high-performing hubs.

Leaner mainliner services

Our mainliner services will be ‘leaner’, as they will have on average almost half the amount of port calls per service rotation compared to today. This means the average number of stops a container will make between the origin and final destination will decrease significantly.

Reliable shuttle connectivity

Our intraregional shuttles will connect hub terminals to strategic gateways, from which mainliners depart, and will mostly have 2 port calls per service, giving more reliability to logistics moves. The hubs linking mainliners and shuttles demonstrate exceptional productivity and reliability. APM Terminals and Hapag-Lloyd have equity presence and a level of operational control in the majority of these hubs and will continue to invest in seamless and efficient connectivity.

Strategic hub advantage

APMT hub terminals are located as ‘pearls on a string’ on the main route from Asia to Europe. This is unique, and combined with a +30% capacity expansion, constitutes an unmatched advantage. The hub objective and deliverables are to make transshipment a seamless enabler for fast and efficient turn of boxes, and an integrated part of the network.

In January 2024, Hapag-Lloyd AG (Hapag-Lloyd) and Maersk A/S (Maersk) announced a new long-term operational collaboration under the name of Gemini – referred to as the “Gemini Cooperation”. The operational collaboration covers the Ocean freight network on East West trades and will come into effect on February 1st, 2025.

On 10 September, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd release a network update covering operational insights into how the network has evolved since announcement, and presenting an alternative Cape of Good Hope network due to the on-going conflict in the Red Sea.

Safety is our top priority. We'll return to Trans Suez when safe, with plans confirmed by October, monitoring Red Sea security for a 2025 phase-in.

We have set the ambitious target of delivering schedule reliability of above 90% once the network is fully phased in.

Our network will focus on high-performing hubs, many managed by Hapag-Lloyd/APM Terminals, enhancing productivity and agility to minimize disruption risks.

We aim for 90%+ schedule reliability with a modern fleet, fewer port calls, lean intra-regional shuttles, and optimized hubs, minimizing disruptions and boosting efficiency.

Maersk (Net Zero 2040) and Hapag-Lloyd (Net Zero 2045) have the most ambitious decarbonisation targets in the industry, and they remain unchanged. However, the new network aims to provide a more fuel-efficient setup that will reduce the greenhouse emissions per transported container already in 2025 and both parties are committed to continue to drive further efficiency in the years to come.

Understanding how the Network of the Future will work

Read more on how the Network of the Future will set itself apart as a best-in-class ocean network.

Network of the Future

About the Network

Delivering for our customers

With the Network of the Future, we are working to meet the following goals for our customers:

Serving the world

The Gemini Cooperation

Aiming to offer industry-leading ocean reliability

Ocean connectivity

Leaner mainliner services

Reliable shuttle connectivity

Strategic hub advantage

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Understanding how the Network of the Future will work

Transshipment hubs and high schedule reliability

5 ways to boost ocean transshipment reliability

Boosting reality - the role of our mainliner and shuttle services