Korean line Hyundai Merchant Marine is reportedly in negotiations with Maersk and MSC to discuss about joining the 2M alliance.
Korea’s second-largest shipping company is considering joining the 2M Alliance, a vessel-sharing agreement between Denmark’s Maersk Line and Switzerland’s Mediterranean Shipping Company – the world’s first and second largest container carriers.
- Joining the alliance will help Hyundai Merchant reduce costs and improve its competitiveness.
- It will also enable Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping to bolster their services on trans-Pacific routes.
Maersk Line’s COO, Søren Toft, reportedly said, “We can confirm that we – 2M – are in discussions with the Korean container shipping line Hyundai Merchant Marine on the possibility of HMM joining the 2M vessel sharing agreement when their membership of the G6 alliance expires in 2017. We are positively reviewing the proposition. The inclusion of Hyundai Merchant Marine in 2M would for example provide us with extended coverage and a stronger product in the transpacific trade. It is early days. Therefore we do not wish to comment further before there are more substantial developments in the discussions.”
“The announcement is raising expectations that this will clear a big obstacle and help turn things around for Hyundai Merchant,” said Park Moo Hyun, an analyst at Hana Daetoo Securities Co. in Seoul. “But there’s still a way to go since talks just started and it remains uncertain how this will help Hyundai Merchant.”
Some analysts speculated that HMM’s entry into the alliance will strengthen Asian trade lane of European-based 2M alliance, which has relatively low representation in the region.
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Sources & References: The Korea Herald, Bloomberg
