A last-minute court plea – infused with rhetoric about coronavirus fallout – has failed to derail Maersk’s plan to switch from the GCT New York terminal on Staten Island to the APM Terminals (APMT) facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

A Maersk spokesman told FreightWaves that a New York district court judge has “ruled against GCT’s request for a restraining order regarding Maersk’s announced transfer of three services” to APMT Elizabeth.

He said the carrier is making the move to “achieve better operational efficiency” after the recent US$200m upgrade to the APMT facility. The judge’s final ruling was filed in court on Tuesday.

Maersk Line informed GCT New York on April 10 that it would pull out as of May 1. APMT, Maersk Line and Hamburg Sud are owned by Copenhagen-listed AP Moller-Maersk (APM).

The three affected services are: a Caribbean-U.S. East Coast (USEC) service operated by Maersk; an East Coast South America-USEC service operated by Hamburg Sud and Hapag-Lloyd; and a West Coast South America-USEC service operated by Hamburg Sud and Hapag-Lloyd (Hapag-Lloyd had no service contract with GCT New York).

Maersk initially offered to pay GCT a settlement of $5.5 million, including an early termination fee of $2.1 million and additional consideration of $3.4 million. GCT fought back – and lost, at least in terms of securing the temporary restraining order (TRO).

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