As the ramifications of tariff implementation continue to intensify, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has demonstrated decisive agility in restructuring their service portfolio, consequently influencing deployed capacity across the North American (NAM) trade routes. Though executing these modifications with minimal public communication, MSC has methodically suspended specific services while strategically bifurcating and consolidating others, actions that eeSea analysts attribute primarily to the unprecedented market volatility currently prevailing.
Within a remarkably compressed timeframe of merely two weeks, MSC has orchestrated substantial modifications across five distinct services, yielding significant capacity implications. Four of these strategic adjustments directly impact North American trade corridors, while the fifth affects the Asia-Europe shipping lane. Among the North American adjustments, three specifically influence the US West Coast operations, with one directly impacting the US East Coast. MSC, paralleling strategies employed by competitor carriers, is implementing multifaceted approaches to navigate the pronounced decline in shipping volumes, a direct consequence of the escalating tariff confrontation between the world's top two economic powers. Beyond straightforward suspensions and selective blank sailings, MSC has exhibited sophistication through service consolidations and strategic bifurcations. Our analytical team has extracted the following insights from comprehensive data assessment:
Service Suspension
Our analytical team consensus indicates the inevitable suspension of the MSC - Empire service. The service has been conspicuously absent from point-to-point search on MSC's official website since Friday, May 2nd. MSC JASPER VIII appears to be the final vessel voyage for this route, with an anticipated arrival in New York on May 25th, 2025. Current projections suggest the service will conclude operations on June 2nd, 2025, at Norfolk, barring unforeseen developments or strategic reversals. ZIM, having previously secured slot arrangements on this service, will presumably need to identify alternative capacity solutions or potentially suspend their corresponding offering altogether.
MSC Orient has encountered a similar fate. This US East Coast service has been discreetly suspended by MSC, with CAPE KORTIA being the last vessel deployed on the route. The vessel is scheduled for Long Beach arrival on May 6th, 2025. However, eeSea forecasters project actual arrival on May 14th, 2025—eight days beyond the carrier's communicated timeline.
In the preceding week, MSC silently discontinued yet another service: the Phoenix, which served the Asia-Europe corridor. The service was suspended without formal customer advisories from the carrier—a trend increasingly adopted by most carriers.
Splitting and Combining Services
MSC introduced the Swan-Sentosa as a pendulum service at the beginning of this calendar year. Premier Alliance subsequently secured slot agreements on this service under their FE6 designation. Currently, however, the service has been strategically bifurcated into two discrete operational segments: the Asia-Europe corridor and the Asia-North America route. The Sentosa will now exclusively service North American destinations, while the Swan will concentrate on European port calls. Premier Alliance maintains its participation on the Swan (Asia-Europe) segment, while MSC has elected to operate independently on the Asia-North America route. While weekly capacity metrics remain relatively stable, the service's aggregate capacity has experienced a reduction.
The original Swan-Sentosa configuration deployed twenty vessels averaging 15,000 TEUs capacity, whereas the reconfigured Sentosa as an independent service is scheduled to utilize ten vessels of equivalent capacity. Identical parameters apply to the Swan, with the carrier maintaining comparable vessel specifications.
While the Swan-Sentosa undergoes strategic separation, another service integration is simultaneously being implemented. eeSea analysts now confirm MSC's consolidation of the Shikra and Pearl services, incorporating a modest reduction in vessel capacity. The newly established pendulum service, Pearl-Shikra, will encompass eighteen ports utilizing smaller vessels compared to its predecessor services. The Pearl-Shikra integration will feature 8,000 TEUs vessels, representing a reduction from the 10,000 and 11,000 TEU vessels previously employed in the standalone Shikra and Pearl services, respectively. Additional capacity reduction will be achieved through fleet reduction, with the pendulum service operating thirteen vessel slots—three slots fewer than the sixteen vessels previously allocated to the individual standalone services.
eeSea will maintain vigilant monitoring of these strategic developments. The current tariff escalation, compounded by possible congestion challenges at North European ports due to the Antwerp port strike, presents continued operational complexities. With supply chains already experiencing significant constraints, absent substantive improvement in prevailing conditions, our outlook anticipates further capacity withdrawals and additional service suspensions.
eeSea Signals
- MSC - Empire | ZIM - ZNS
- MSC - Orient
- MSC - Phoenix
- PMR - FE6 || MSC - Swan Sentosa | ONE - FE6 | YML - FE6
- MSC - Shikra
- MSC - Pearl
- MSC - Pearl - Shikra
- All MSC services on Asia - North America