‘HMM + K2’ consortium to start in March

Hyundai Merchant Marine said Tuesday its consortium with Heung-A Shipping and Sinokor Merchant Marine will give it full access to the two carriers’ intra-Asia networks.    Ocean carrier Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) said Tuesday it will form a consortium with two smaller South Korean carriers – Heung-A Shipping and Sinokor Merchant Marine – for moving cargo within Asia.
   The “HMM + K2” consortium will commence operations in March after signing a formal contract next month. The agreement will cover Japan, China and South East/West Asia trades, and will be automatically renewed for successive two year terms.
   HMM said the agreement will allow it to acquire competitiveness against large carriers.
   “HMM will have a full acess on Heung-A and Sinokor’s networks, which focus on Korea-Japan, Korea-China or Korea-South East/West Asia trades,” a spokeswoman said.
   She said Heung-A and Sinokor would also be able to use space on HMM’s ships to move cargo in cross trades.
   As a result of the consortium, the Port of Pusan will see a boost in transshipment volumes.
   HMM said, “This consortium will result in cost savings and improvement in customer services for Heung-A and Sinokor, which also strengthen their weak points in Tri-party services.”
   In addition, HMM said the consortium “will include vessel sharing, slot exchange, and slot purchase agreements, as well as additional plans to bring in joint investment in port infrastructure and sharing of container equipment in the medium and long term.”
   According to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting‘s Carrier Dashboard tool, HMM currently has 60 vessels with a combined capacity of 409,619 TEUs deployed on services. Meanwhile, Heung-A is currently deploying 34,760 TEUs with 25 vessels, while Sinokor is currently deploying 30,305 TEUs with 17 vessels.