Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運), one of the nation’s leading container shippers, has formed a new shipping alliance with five foreign counterparts.
Yang Ming Marine said that it has teamed up with Germany-based Hapag-Lloyd AG, Hanjin Shipping Co of South Korea and Japan’s Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd, Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd and Nippon Yusen KK to set up a partnership.
It said that the new partnership, called the Alliance, will cover all east-west trade lanes, including services for Asia-Europe and the Mediterranean; Asia-North America West Coast; Asia-North America East Coast; the Transatlantic; and Asia-the Middle East, the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.
Yang Ming Marine said that the Alliance is expected to jointly own a fleet of more than 620 container vessels with about 3.5 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and take an 18 percent share of the global container fleet capacity.
The Alliance is scheduled to begin operations next year and would continue for five years, the company said.
“This will become the basis of a dedicated fleet deployed into the groups’ future service portfolio. Clients will be able to enjoy an outstanding product characterized by fast transit times, high frequency sailings and expansive port coverage,” the Alliance said.
“This agreement is a milestone and will enable the six partners of the Alliance to offer sailing frequencies and direct coverage in the market,” the statement said.
Hapag-Lloyd is in talks with United Arab Shipping Co for a possible merger.
If they reach an agreement, the company would become part of the Alliance, which would boost the partnership’s total capacity to more than 4 million TEUs, Yang Ming Marine said.
Market analysts said that since the global shipping industry faces an oversupply in terms of capacity, major shippers are seeking alliances to boost economic efficiency and competitiveness.
Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運), the largest shipping company in the nation, last month announced it would form the Ocean Alliance with France’s CMA CGM, China’s COSCO Container Lines Co (中國遠洋) and Hong Kong’s Orient Overseas Container Line Ltd (東方海外).
The Ocean Alliance, which is to become operational in April next year, is expected to replace the 2M Alliance, formed by Denmark’s Maersk Line and Geneva-headquartered Mediterranean Shipping Co, to become the world’s largest shipping alliance.
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