'Waltz has begun' in S. America trade: Maersk Sealand's withdrawal from alliance may set off chain by carriers.(Container Shipping)

In a surprise move that is shaking up the South American trade lanes, Maersk Sealand is planning to launch its own string of vessels on routes between the east coasts of the U.S. and South America. It is withdrawing from the alliance with Hamburg Sud, Alianca and P&O Nedlloyd and has already given them the required six months' notice that it is pulling out of the Tango and Samba fixed-day weekly rotations.

Maersk Sealand's decision to pull out will have the biggest impact on the Samba service (which Maersk calls the Rumba service in its schedules) because it owns four of the six 1,800-TEU vessels in that string. Hamburg Sud owns one of the vessels, and P&O Nedlloyd, another.

"We decided to start a string on our own," said Jorgen Harling, vice president of business development for Maersk Sealand in Copenhagen. He said Maersk Sealand will deploy the four vessels from the Samba service plus two others of a similar …