On 3 February 2025, the MV Leonidio became the first ship to dock at DP World Southampton under the Gemini Cooperation agreement – a collaboration between shipping giants Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd.
Initially announced in January 2024, the collaboration was designed to ‘strengthen the reliability of their East-West shipping networks, reducing the number of port calls in the mainliner services and introducing a hub-and-spoke network design with the goal of improving global supply chain efficiency’.
After leaving Southampton, the MV Leonidio is set to call at the ports of Rotterdam, Hamburg and Wilhelmshaven in Europe before crossing the Atlantic to dock at New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Saint John in North America.
Gary Jeffreys, managing director of Maersk UK & Ireland, commented: “It’s exciting to see our Gemini ocean network going live now after more than a year of thorough planning and preparation. It’s an absolute innovative network design in our ocean industry with the overall goal of delivering more robust and resilient ocean services to our customers.
“Logistics today must assert itself in a new environment with multiple disruptions and other challenges like geopolitical tensions or climate change. Hence, we need to apply new solutions to get schedule reliability back to the formerly known levels that our customers deserve. Besides using our own hub ports, we are excited to partner with terminal operators like DP World who can help us deliver the reliability.”
Cameron Bowie, managing director of Hapag-Lloyd UK & Ireland, added: “With the Gemini Cooperation network officially launched, it is great to see the first Hapag-Lloyd vessel ‘MV Leonidio’ arrive in Southampton.
“The AL1/AT3 service is one of 57 services in the Gemini network and highlights our commitment to optimising global shipping routes. Our goal is ambitious yet clear: to achieve industry-leading reliability of over 90% by summer 2025.
“The success of Gemini depends on more than ships and schedules. It’s also about good and strong collaborations we have with our ports and terminals.”
As part of Gemini’s partnership with DP World, all of its services from the Middle East and Asia to Europe will now be handled at London Gateway, alongside their transatlantic services at Southampton.
Ernst Schulze, CEO for ports and terminals at DP World in the UK, said: “Our unmatched supply chain capabilities, operational reliability and connectivity demonstrate why Gemini has entrusted us with their Trans-Atlantic services at Southampton and further vital international routes at London Gateway.
“Alongside improving the reliability and efficiency of the UK economy’s international trade links, our partnership with the Gemini Cooperation is a testament to our steadfast programme of investment to make both Southampton and London Gateway the most modern and advanced logistics hubs in Europe.
“Over the next three months, we are hosting weekly ‘Insight Days’ at London Gateway so new customers can learn more about the wide range of services at the logistics hub, which boasts four deep-sea berths, a rail terminal and the UK’s largest port-adjacent logistics park.”
