MAERSK Line has announced changes on its Asia-North Europe trade lane the company says will mean more reliable service, cost savings and faster transits.

Overlapping port pairs have been eliminated to cut direct port calls when the programme is implemented in the third quarter. 

This, they say, means increased reliability through slower network speeds while cutting port calls to retain competitive transit times, said Maersk.

Services into Germany and the Netherlands will feature "market leading" transit times from main Asian markets to Bremerhaven and Rotterdam.

On the westbound run, transit times will be improved by as much as four days. Eastbound transit times between Rotterdam and Shanghai will be reduced by five days - a "unique product in the market".

A key enabler for the improvements is Maersk Line's more effective deployment of large container vessels across its five Asia-North Europe services.

"We are utilising our scale to deliver a better product," said Maersk Line's chief commercial officer Vincent Clerc. 

"With the largest network and the deployment of an increasingly uniform fleet of ultra large container vessels, we maintain our extensive direct coverage while focusing each service towards best in class transit times to specific markets," said Mr Clerc

Maersk Line said it has drawn on experience from the first year of operations of the 2M alliance when adjusting the network. 

Launched in the beginning of 2015, the 10-year agreement with MSC is the only global alliance not affected by the current shake up among global container shipping alliances.

"Our improved network is the result of a stable, maturing alliance seeking to address current customer-felt pain points. It strengthens our commercial offering and offers shippers a stable choice in times where other alliance networks await reshuffling," said Mr Clerc.