Closer to customers and opportunities for growth; Maersk Line is establishing Nansha port as its third gateway in South China in order to both provide an unmatched service offering to customers and to tap into the region’s potential.

From April, several strings in most of Maersk Line’s major trades including Asia–Europe and Transpacific have started calling Nansha — a port located in the city of Guangzhou and a prime access point for cargo coming to and from the fast-growing West Pearl River Delta (WPRD) region.

By establishing a solid presence in Nansha, Maersk Line is moving its services closer to customers located in WPRD; lowering their supply chain costs and carbon footprint while at the same time increasing service reliability by offering direct connections to Maersk Line mother vessels.

“While we are not the first carrier in Nansha, we are the first one to do it on this scale — and are acting as an undisputed leader with this move,” explains Søren Karas, South China Cluster Top.

“We need to now make sure we maximise the benefits for our customers as well as for Maersk Line, and win big in Nansha.”

Opportunities
In what will be Maersk Line’s third gateway in South China after Yantian (Shenzhen) and Hong Kong, from a Maersk Line perspective the potential in Nansha is based on its continuous positive development in the past half decade as well as projected volume and market growth in the coming five years.

Maersk Line also has a first-mover advantage by being the first top global carrier to offer comprehensive services from Nansha, enabling the organisation to capture market opportunities ahead of competition.

In March , the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Guangzhou Municipal People’s Government, forming a strategic partnership to strengthen long-term cooperation with regard to Guangzhou's maritime infrastructure.

On the same occasion, Maersk Line also signed a cooperation agreement with Guangzhou Port Group, enhancing the cooperation in Nansha port and in the Pearl River delta. Group CEO Nils S. Andersen and Mr. Wan Qingliang, Guangzhou city mayor, attended the signing ceremony.

“Making this cooperation official is a great signal to all our stakeholders — the government, customers as well as employees — of the great potential in Nansha,” continues Karas.

“This is also testament to the commitment of all parties involved to make our move a success, and to rank Nansha amongst the best ports in South China.”