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Gemini Cooperation partners Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd hit their 90% on-time schedule reliability target across all trades in April/May. Across the main deepsea trades, the carrier groupings all mostly saw similar reliability: Gemini the most on-time; followed by standalone liner MSC; and then the Ocean and finally Premier alliances. According to new data from Sea-Intelligence Consulting, the Gemini Cooperation recorded 91.4% schedule reliability in trade arrivals during April/May, on a like-for-like comparison with the same period in the previous year, when it was still rolling out its new network. MSC’s standalone network saw schedule reliability of 79.7%, while the Ocean and Premier alliance were third and fourth, with schedule reliability levels of 69.7% and 54%, respectively. Gemini’s standout service was its Asia-Northern Europe Loop 3 – the AE3 at Maersk and NE3 at Hapag-Lloyd – which hit a 100% reliability across 15 arrivals during the period. It will be interesting to see, in the next couple of months, whether Gemini will be able to maintain the loop’s 100% reliability, as the service is undergoing considerable change as new direct port calls are inserted. Whereas the current AE3/NE3 port rotation features Gemini’s preponderance for transhipment hubs – which the partners had argued would allow them to achieve 90%-plus reliability – the new schedule will see two calls at Algeciras dropped and new North European calls added at Aarhus, Gothenburg, and Southampton. The number of ships deployed on the string will remain the same, at 13, according to Xeneta’s eeSea liner database. Meanwhile, Gemini’s schedule reliability across its four Asia-North Europe strings dipped to 94.1%, caused by the Asia-Northern Europe Loop 1’s schedule reliability of 81%, while Loop 2 and Loop 4 achieved 93.6% and 98.1%, respectively. It was still well ahead of its rivals: MSC posted an Asia-North Europe reliability of 78.8%; Ocean Alliance hit 52.9%; and the Premier Alliance lagged at 39.1%. Average reliability across all Asia-North Europe services was 67.8%, while on the Asia-Mediterranean trade it was 67.1%, which Gemini again led, with schedule reliability of 95.2%, followed by MSC with 83.9%, and the Ocean and Premier alliances with 60.9% and 59.1%, respectively. On the transpacific liner reliability was even more impressive – Gemini recorded 97.1% on Asia-North America west coast services and 97.9% on Asia-US east coast trades. Into the west coast, MSC had a 76% on-time arrival rate, with Ocean Alliance at 65.6% and Premier Alliance at 57.1%, while into the east coast, Ocean took second place, with 70.2%, MSC 66.1%, and the Premier Alliance was at 54.4%. There were also a host of services that managed to hit 100% reliability, including the express EEX service operated by CMA CGM-owned APL, and three Gemini strings. The smallest of the east-west trades, the transatlantic – on which the Premier Alliance has no network, member lines slot-chartering on other services – saw MSC top the reliability rankings between the Mediterranean and the North America east coast, at 71.7%, followed by Gemini, with 70.6%; while on the North Europe-North America east coast route, Gemini resumed top spot, at 88.2%, with MSC at 76.8%, and the Ocean Alliance with 62.5%.

The UK’s newest subsea trials site has made waves with a multi-robot demonstration, highlighting its potential to accelerate marine autonomy and ocean sensing. The Smart Sound Connect Subsurface (SSCS) project — part of Plymouth’s growing marine innovation hub — has showcased cutting-edge underwater testing infrastructure and is now inviting industry and research partners to join future trials. TheSmart Sound Connect Subsurfaceproject, part of Smart Sound Plymouth, led by the University of Plymouth, with Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), saw platforms fromACUA Ocean,ecoSUB Robotics,Seaber, andSonardyneworking together above and below the surface, before the new subsea testbed designed to accelerate the UK’s marine autonomy and ocean sensing wrapped up its live, multi-marine surface and subsea robotic platform demonstration that emphasized its underwater testing capabilities. Professor James Fishwick, Head of Innovation for Smart Sound Plymouth (at PML), commented:“Smart Sound Plymouth is going from strength to strength. The addition of the subsurface network enables even greater integration between platforms and supports our state-of-the-art testing capabilities for autonomous vehicles and advanced technologies. “It complements the high-speed military-encrypted network above the surface and helps provide a fully connected environment. This successful technology demonstration further reflects Plymouth’s place as a world-leading hub for marine autonomy.” The all-day collaborative demonstration enabled visitors from business, science, defence and national bodies to view the potential of the three-year, £1.2 million ($1.59 million) SSCS project, whose key element is the seabed node array, which provides absolute positioning and communications using passive ultra-short baseline (USBL) technology for testing underwater systems in a real-world highly characterised testing environment. Iain Vincent, Director & General Manager at ecoSUB Robotics, stated:“Smart Sound and the SSCS environment has already been an extremely useful resource for ecoSUB Robotics. Most recently we have collaborated with Sonardyne on the development of a subsea AUV launch and navigation solution. “Smart Sound provided the perfect place to test this technology, with easy access to open water, vessels and subsea nodes, and an outgoing and helpful community who support activity.” Provided by Sonardyne, the SSCS’ infrastructure extends Smart Sound Plymouth and the Western Channel Observatory, through a seabed node array for absolute positioning and communications, alongside other intelligent sensors within a highly characterised environment. During the demonstration, both the University of Plymouth’s Seaber autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and an ecoSUB AUV navigated simultaneously using only the seabed node array. Dr. Lilian Lieber, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Plymouth, underlined:“SSCS provides a unique opportunity to test new ocean observing technologies. For me, its value lies in turning prototypes and field-tested technologies into trusted data streams, accelerating ocean observing towards autonomous sensing and near-real-time insight. “This helps turn ocean data into actionable intelligence for climate resilience, early warning and preparedness, while the infrastructure itself enables technology innovation and stronger industry collaboration.” Pioneeruncrewed surface vessel (USV) from Plymouth-based ACUA Ocean tracked and controlled at the surface an AUV from Southampton-based ecoSUB using a Sonardyne Ranger 2 Gyro USBL positioning system on the USV, which wirelessly harvested data from a permanently deployed Sonardyne Origin 600 acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) in the SSCS that also transmits real-time data to shore, and a live internet feed as part of the Western Channel Observatory – via the long-running L4 oceanographic monitoring station. Additionally, Marine AI showed the ability to continue navigating, even when GNSS drops out, using Sonardyne’s SPRINT-Nav, based on trials in the SSCS earlier this year. The demonstrations were viewed live by guests from the UK and overseas within PML’s onshore remote operations centre at its campus in Plymouth. Geraint West, Business Development Advisor at Sonardyne, underscored:“This ability to test and accelerate marine autonomous system innovation in a known environment with the type of infrastructure we now have in the SSCS is a real boost not just for Plymouth. “The demonstration had interest from around the UK and internationally, with visitors from North America and Asia and from a wide range of stakeholders, military, commercial, science and industry. It just shows the reputation Plymouth now has and continues to build for marine autonomy, thanks to the environment, ecosystem and collaboration we have in the city and in Plymouth Sound.” As the Smart Sound Connect Subsurface project team is seeking additional research and development partners to collaborate in further trials of the SSCS testing environment, it encourages anyone interested in testing new subsea vehicle operations, underwater data telemetry, or any other use of the new infrastructure to contactAaron Barrett, Lecturer in Autonomy at the University of Plymouth, regarding getting involved. John Hunnibell, ACUA Ocean’s Chief Product Officer, said:“This demonstration provided an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the persistent mission utility and seagoing characteristics of our USV Pioneer as a ‘mothership’ for nested robotics, data harvesting and data transfer at sea. “Specifically, we used this event to demonstrate that the USV Pioneer can deliver subsea monitoring and security for critical underwater infrastructure by teaming with multi-static seabed sensor nodes. It was also a great way to develop our relationships with capable, credible technical partners: Sonardyne, ecoSUB, PML and the University of Plymouth in Smart Sound Plymouth.” Take the spotlight and anchor your brand in the heart of the offshore world! Join us for a bigger impact and amplify your presence at the core hub of the offshore energy community!