Maersk and CMA CGM end their Asia–Brazil partnership: what changes at each port
The last joint voyage leaves Shanghai on December 8. CMA CGM redesigns its services, and Rio Grande gets a direct link to Asia through Hapag-Lloyd's AS3.
In 30 seconds
- Maersk and CMA CGM end their ASAS2 partnership. The last joint voyage leaves Shanghai on December 8, and Maersk continues alone with ASAS.
- CMA CGM relaunches SEAS 2 on December 14 and SEAS A on December 17 with new rotations: Itapoá and Itajaí stay on SEAS 2, Navegantes on SEAS A.
- AS3, Hapag-Lloyd's weekly service with ZIM, makes its first departure from Brazil to Asia on October 21 from Rio Grande, also calling at Paranaguá, Itajaí, Santos and Rio de Janeiro.
The news
Maersk and CMA CGM will stop sharing ships between Asia and the east coast of South America. The end of ASAS2, the service they ran together, is the centrepiece of a reshuffle that changes, by December, which services call at each Brazilian port.
The agreement's last voyage, 650W, leaves Shanghai on December 8. According to Maersk's advisory, as reported by trade media, the company stays on the trade with ASAS, now operated and controlled by Maersk alone. The advisory does not list ASAS ports.
CMA CGM, for its part, published new rotations for two services on September 30. SEAS 2 starts on December 14, with CMA CGM Cobalt leaving Tianjin, and calls in Brazil at Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Paranaguá, Itapoá and Itajaí. SEAS A starts on December 17, with CMA CGM Xenon leaving Ningbo, and calls at Santos and Navegantes before continuing to Montevideo and Buenos Aires.
Meanwhile, a new service is already running. In September, Hapag-Lloyd launched AS3, a weekly service operated jointly with ZIM. The rotation leaves Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Hong Kong and Yantian and reaches Rio Grande, Paranaguá, Itajaí, Santos and Rio de Janeiro. According to the schedule published by Hapag-Lloyd, the first departure from Brazil to Asia is on October 21, from Rio Grande.
Why it matters
For shippers in southern Brazil, the most immediate change is Rio Grande. With AS3, the port gains a direct sailing to Asia without depending on transshipment in Santos or elsewhere.
In Santa Catarina and Paraná, what changes is which service calls at each port. CMA CGM did not compare the new rotations with the old ones. The comparison was made by The Loadstar, using data from consultancy Solvens Advisory: according to that analysis, Navegantes leaves SEAS 2 and will rely on SEAS A, SEAS A stops calling at Paranaguá, and SEAS 2 picks up Itajaí, which was on ASAS2. The same analysis estimates that weekly capacity from Asia to the region falls by about 4%.
In practice, a booking made today for December may be on a service that is ending or no longer calls at the contracted port. Anyone with cargo on the last ASAS2 voyages or the first voyages of the new services should check the vessel, port and date of each booking.
What to do
- 1For each December booking, check the service, vessel and discharge port. Cargo on ASAS2 after 8/12 needs to be rescheduled.
- 2If the discharge port changes, tell your customs broker: the Federal Revenue office handling clearance may change too.
- 3Check what your freight contract says if the carrier changes the port.
What we know — and what we don't
- Hapag-Lloyd's weekly AS3 with ZIM, calling at Rio Grande, Paranaguá, Itajaí, Santos and Rio de Janeiro (Hapag-Lloyd)
- First AS3 departure from Brazil to Asia on 21/10/2026, from Rio Grande (Hapag-Lloyd)
- SEAS 2 from 14/12 and SEAS A from 17/12, with rotations published by CMA CGM on 30/09/2026
- End of ASAS2: last joint voyage (650W) leaves Shanghai on 08/12/2026; Maersk continues with ASAS (Maersk advisory as reported by the press)
- The full rotation of Maersk's ASAS after ASAS2 ends
- Transit times for the new services (carriers did not disclose them)
- The comparison between old and new rotations, and the 4% capacity drop, come from a Loadstar/Solvens analysis, not from the carriers
- Whether SEAS A's call at Coega, South Africa, will be confirmed
The services, one by one
| Service | Carriers | Ports in Brazil | Key date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AS3 | Hapag-Lloyd and ZIM | Rio Grande, Paranaguá, Itajaí, Santos, Rio de Janeiro | 1st departure from Brazil: 21/10, from Rio Grande |
| SEAS 2 | CMA CGM | Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Paranaguá, Itapoá, Itajaí | 1st departure from Asia: 14/12, from Tianjin |
| SEAS A | CMA CGM | Santos, Navegantes (plus Montevideo and Buenos Aires) | 1st departure from Asia: 17/12, from Ningbo |
| ASAS2 | Maersk and CMA CGM | ended | last departure: 8/12, from Shanghai |
| ASAS | Maersk | rotation not detailed in the advisory | continues without interruption |
Port by port
Counting only the services in this story (MSC, Cosco, ONE and other carriers run their own services on the trade):
- Rio Grande: AS3, with a direct departure to Asia from 21/10.
- Paranaguá: AS3 and SEAS 2.
- Itapoá: SEAS 2.
- Itajaí: AS3 and SEAS 2.
- Navegantes: SEAS A.
- Santos: AS3, SEAS 2 and SEAS A.
- Rio de Janeiro: AS3 and SEAS 2.
Sources: Hapag-Lloyd (AS3), CMA CGM (SEAS 2 and SEAS A) and Maersk's advisory as reported by trade media (ASAS2).
Sources
- Hapag-Lloyd — Shipping from Asia to South America East Coast? Here's our new AS3 service · accessed 10/19/2026
- CMA CGM — SEAS loops: enhanced direct services from the Far East to East Coast South America — published 09/30/2026 · accessed 10/19/2026
- DataPortuaria — Service Update: Asia - East Coast South America Network (ASAS2), aviso da Maersk — published 10/01/2026 · accessed 10/19/2026
- Container News — Maersk and CMA CGM to end ASAS2 cooperation — published 10/03/2026 · accessed 10/19/2026
- The Loadstar — Shippers urged to check routings as alliances redraw Asia–S America trade — published 10/02/2026 · accessed 10/19/2026