Chief executive officers of the four-member container shipping lines that make up the Grand Alliance - Hapag-Lloyd, MISC, NYK Line and OOCL - have extended their co-operation agreement for another 10 years.

"We have enjoyed a very close partnership and been able to respond to market changes rapidly and together realised cost savings. Our customers benefit from our modern tonnage, excellent port coverage and attractive transit times. There was thus no doubt about our wanting to continue our successful co-operation for a further 10 years," a statement from the CEOs said.

One of the key aspects for their future co-operation is to offer a higher frequency of sailings in fast growing markets to meet increasing customer demands. Depending on customer demands, Grand Alliance members said they would consider expanding the scope of the Grand Alliance.

Another area of co-operation is their further dedication to environmental protection, particularly in coastal waters. Grand Alliance member lines intend to commit efforts to further reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions, through the use of low sulphur fuel and more efficient deployment plans.

The Grand Alliance members deploy in their services a total of 140 vessels each with a capacity of between 2,700 and 9,000 TEU, offering 20 services, mainly on major east-west routes.

Co-operation among members is restricted to provision of joint port-to-port services, on which each member is allocated space to market on its own account. The shipping lines compete with each other to attract customers, and there is no discussion or agreement within the alliance on any commercial matters, including fixing freight rates, a statement issued by NYK added.