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COSCO's SEA3 service reinstatement is a powerful microcosm of the 'Trump effect'
2025-07-01 09:55

COSCO's SEA3 service reinstatement is a powerful microcosm of the 'Trump effect'

by Destine Ozuygur •
COSCO's SEA3 service reinstatement is a powerful microcosm of the 'Trump effect'

What has become the characteristic see-saw of service modifications, suspensions, and reinstatements on the Transpacific trade is exemplified in the brief history of Cosco’s SEA3 service. As just one of the dozens of services eeSea analysts inspect daily - this weekly COSCO and OOCL partnership averaging 8K TEU vessels has undergone a rollercoaster of developments since the start of the year:

  • The first version of the SEA3 service, referred to as the PSX by OOCL, commenced on June 18, 2024.
  • On January 23, 2025 eeSea analysts confirmed the string would be absorbed into what would become the Ocean Alliance’s new PSW11.
  • The PSW11 service on the Day 9 Network plan ended up operating for just over one month, from April 1 - May 9, with only three out of six planned vessels of an average 8.8K TEU completing their voyages.
  • On June 18, we discovered through a port-to-port schedule search that the SEA3 had been reinstated yet again. With an absence of evidence across all former PSW11 VSA partners we reinstated the service as the former COSCO & OOCL partnership and continue to scan portals for any developments.
  • The service recommences today on July 1 with the arrival of the OOCL ROTTERDAM into Kaohsiung, immediately followed by two Blank Sailings in slots 2 and 3.

Evolution including changes in partnerships, suspensions, reinstatements, and on-again-off-again blank sailings are becoming increasingly common in our service version histories across all major E/W routes. Once upon a time, a new service version constituted by just one major structural adjustment every few months was the norm. Now, it's not unusual to see multiple significant alterations on the same service in the course of just a few weeks, and that doesn't even begin to touch on the maddening labyrinth of what daily changes on a voyage level. Especially in the Transpacific, the politically fueled tariff upheavals instituted by the Trump administration have created a sense of ‘whatever can happen, will happen’ - you might say Murphy’s law currently rules the sea.

Please feel free to reach out to our team for more operational insights at contact@eesea.com. You can keep up with our continued coverage of developing stories on our News & Analysis page here, or by following us on Linkedin.

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