Obviously, we are monitoring the situation day after day and we will evaluate if there are decisions that need to be made in terms of potential rerouting or this type of alternative. Also, I think — maybe this is linked. This is maybe driving one of the reasons — this is one of the reason why we are now reopening the services between South China and LA, which we suspended a few months back. And, as we also see some of the cargo being redirected now back from the East Coast to the West Coast, and we see an opportunity here for us to resume service, the ZEX line, that was — that had been quite successful for the company in the past.
Patrick Creuset: Clear. Thanks very much.
Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Alexia Dogani from Barclays. Please go ahead.
Alexia Dogani: Thank you for taking the follow-up question. I just had a question on the size of your fleet for next year. Obviously, the size has gone down to 145 vessels. How should we think about the size of the company in 2024? And then, given your more fuel efficient vessels entering the fleet, how quickly do you think you can regain unit costs at par with 2019 levels? Thanks.
Xavier Destriau: With regards to the fleet size, if we look at — or if we anticipate the vessel count, it might not be that very different from what we currently operate today. But you’re right we will operate larger ship on average as the ships that are coming in are replacing smaller vessel. So today, give or take, we operate an equivalent capacity of 600,000 TEUs for the 129 container vessels that we operate. And this should go near or closer to the 700,000 TEU mark by the end of 2024 when we have taken delivery of all of our fleet. So, this is clearly something that is important for us when we look into 2024 and the volume that we also need to capture in terms of filling those vessels. In terms of the fuel efficiency, transitioning clearly towards energy for the 28 vessels that we — are coming our way today and up until the end of next year, this is allowing us to get significant savings.
We also get savings from the chartering cost. When will we get back or if we will get back to 2019 is a difficult determination to make. There are a lot of moving parameters as you know. So, we will provide again more guidance in 2024 when we address you and the market early next year. Today, clearly, whatever the market is doing, we are focusing on extracting costs in our organization. So, these cost actions obviously relate to taking those new more efficient vessels. It also relates to us redeploying our capacity the best way we think is the case. I mentioned the ZEX line, the new service that we reopened, the two new lines that we’ve also announced in opening — addressing Latin America trade lanes. Us partnering with MSC not so long ago on the — some of the key trades where we — by partnering with them, did manage to lower our cost of operation.
So, maximizing and optimizing our network is clearly number one priority for the company. And then, next year, we will need to capture additional volume. And we intend to do that with a stable workforce as well, therefore generating productivity savings as well in this respect.
Alexia Dogani: Thank you.
Operator: This concludes the Q&A session. I will now turn the call back over to Eli Glickman for closing remarks.
Eli Glickman: Thank you. 2023 and 2024 are transition periods for ZIM. While these are challenging times, we expect the deliberate steps we have taken to enhance our operation on a commercial resilience to deliver positive outcomes. Our fleet renewal program will improve our cost structure and drive long-term profitable growth. In the immediate trend, we are pursuing cost control initiatives and commercial opportunities that will best position us to weather this downturn. Strong total cash position of $3.1 billion will maintain a long-term view and believe ZIM is well positioned to emerge stronger than ever, highlighted by a few — a new core cost and fuel efficiency that provide us a competitive advantage in key trades. We remain committed to leveraging technology and digitalization to promote operational and commercial excellence, while further implementing our differentiated strategy to best serve our customers and generate sustainable value for shareholders.
Thank you all for joining us today and your interest in ZIM. Hope everyone stays safe. Thank you.
Operator: This concludes today’s conference call. Thank you for your participation, and you may now disconnect.
