Maersk loses both Asia–South America partners in three months

Market Context & Direct Impact

Asia to East Coast South America alliance lines are being redrawn. In a 2 October 2026 column, The Loadstar's Nils Roche describes the moves as the alliance map redrawing on a trade the alliances never formally covered. His reading is that CMA CGM, Cosco, OOCL and Evergreen alone will staff the revised SEAS 2 and SEAS A loops, leaving PIL and Yang Ming off the list. Maersk now has one loop and no in-house backup when a sailing is blanked.

A different service can mean a different emissions record. The measurement sits in the calculation method. Smart Freight Centre says its GLEC Framework and the ISO 14083 standard together allow for consistent calculation and reporting of global logistics GHG emissions. The current GLEC Framework v3 has folded the provisions of ISO 14083:2023 back into its text. It offers an ISO 14083-compliant calculation covering the transport itself, logistics hubs and the energy supply to them. Smart Freight Centre published sector guidance on 12 June 2026 on applying ISO 14083 and GLEC to post, parcel and e-commerce. No source reviewed for this briefing publishes a Scope 3 figure for the revised Asia–South America services. That suggests a shipper's historical per-shipment numbers may rest on services it no longer uses (reading).

Core Executive Takeaways

• Loops can shiftRoche expects tight space and rollovers for Yang Ming customers, who move onto a shared loop without direct Paranaguá, Itajaí or River Plate calls.
• Opinion, not filingRoche's view is framed as his own read, and no carrier-issued emissions figure for these loops appears in the sources reviewed.
• Assurance protects restatementsSmart Freight Centre argues that third-party assurance builds the trust a restated emissions figure will need.

Strategic Playbook

1. 1
   Tag affected lanes

   Pull last quarter's Asia to Brazil and River Plate bookings and tag each with carrier, loop and vessel. Flag every shipment whose service changed since the alliance shift.

2. 2
   Restate under ISO 14083

   Rebuild affected shipment calculations with the GLEC Framework method, and request service-level data from each carrier before restating any Scope 3 total.

Filed 21:26 GMT, 23 October 2026, for the third edition of 23 Oct.
As agents only.

Sources

1. Shippers urged to check routings as alliances redraw Asia–S America tradeThe Loadstar, published 2 October 2026
2. Application of ISO 14083:2023 and the GLEC Framework for the Post & Parcel and E-commerce SectorSmart Freight Centre, published 12 June 2026
3. GLEC Framework for Logistics Emissions Accounting and Reporting version 3.1Smart Freight Centre, published 1 March 2025
4. New ISO 14083 standard: a globally recognized methodology to calculate GHG emissionsSmart Freight Centre, published 10 May 2023

Claims ledger: 10 facts and where each comes from

• In a 2 October 2026 column, Nils Roche says the Asia–East Coast South America moves look like the alliance map redrawing on a trade the alliances never formally covered.¹
• Maersk has lost both its partners on Asia–East Coast South America in three months.¹
• Roche's reading is that the revised SEAS 2 and SEAS A will carry only CMA CGM, Cosco, OOCL and Evergreen, with PIL and Yang Ming out.¹
• Maersk now has one loop and no in-house backup when a sailing is blanked.¹
• Yang Ming customers move onto a small, shared loop with no direct Paranaguá, Itajaí or River Plate calls, and Roche expects tight space and rollovers there.¹
• The GLEC Framework v3 integrates the provisions of ISO 14083:2023 back into the framework.³
• The GLEC Framework v3 offers an ISO 14083-compliant calculation of GHG emissions from transport, covering the transport itself as well as logistics hubs and the energy supply to them.³
• Third-party assurance of emission reports is crucial for building trust and credibility, according to the GLEC Framework.³
• Smart Freight Centre published sector guidance on 12 June 2026 describing how to apply ISO 14083 and the GLEC Framework to post, parcel and e-commerce.²
• ISO 14083 and the GLEC Framework allow for consistent calculation and reporting of global logistics GHG emissions, per Smart Freight Centre's 10 May 2023 statement.⁴

Every figure above is tied to a cited source that was checked on the day of filing. Found an error? Tell the desk.