The world’s two largest shipping lines are ending their vessel-sharing alliance 2M. The partnership ending officially in January 2025, FreightWaves.com reports.

This comes as both companies saw a divergence in their respective business strategies during the pandemic, with MSC opting to expand its operations through secondhand ship acquisitions, while Maersk focused instead on being an end-to-end logistics provider.

The two carriers said that the decision comes from mutual agreement and is complying with conditions set by the original contract, which was signed in 2015.

The contract, which initially stated that the alliance on east-west services was for a minimum of 10 years, also required a two-year notice period for termination.

“Discontinuing the 2M alliance paves the way for both companies to continue to pursue their individual strategies,” said MSC CEO Soren Toft and newly appointed A.P. Moller-Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc in a joint statement.

Both executives emphasized that the decision to terminate 2M will have no effect on immediate alliance services.

According to Maersk, the company is seeking to “minimize any disruptions to the 2M network leading up to termination in 2025.”

Additionally, the firm stated that the end of 2M “paves the way for Maersk to efficiently focus on our integrator strategy to meet the evolving needs of our customers, including reliability, flexibility and sustainability.”

As for MSC, Toft assured that they will continue to “strengthen and modernize our fleet, providing us with the scale we need for the most comprehensive ocean and short-sea shipping network in the market”.