April 29, 2025
The Ocean Alliance’s PSW11 service, a critical transpacific route connecting China to the Port of Long Beach, has been abruptly suspended just one month after its launch. This decision underscores the intensifying economic fallout from the US-China tariff war, which has disrupted global shipping networks and forced carriers to slash capacity in response to plummeting demand and punitive trade measures . Below, we analyze the key drivers, operational impacts, and broader implications of this suspension.
The PSW11 suspension is a direct consequence of the escalating trade tensions between the US and China. Launched in early April, 2025, the PSW11 service was operational for barely a month before its suspension. Initially planned to deploy seven vessels, only three managed to sail:
- COSCO THAILAND: The inaugural vessel, which completed its journey to Long Beach.
- OOCL UTAH and OOCL SOUTHAMPTON are currently en route to Long Beach with OOCL UTAH predicted to call Long Beach on May 7th, 2025.
eeSea confirms that COSCO and OOCL have removed all long-term scheduling for the PSW11 from their websites. The suspension is projected to eliminate approximately 24k TEUs* per month (measured from last load port) from the transpacific trade lane.
The PSW11 suspension epitomizes the fragility of global trade. With no resolution in sight, carriers must navigate a landscape of the tariffs, port fees, and retaliatory measures—all while balancing capacity and profitability. This suspension is likely to be temporary and might only exist as long as the tariffs do but will definitely leave a mark on the transpacific trade.
*Correction: Please note that the previously communicated withdrawn capacity of 61k TEUs reflects the cumulative total across all seven available slots, rather than a monthly estimate. To ensure clarity and precision, the figure has been updated to provide a definitive and accurate representation of the capacity in question.