The shipping alliance THE Alliance will be adding Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) as a new member on April 1, 2020, when the South Korean container shipping company will be officially admitted as a new full member to the circle of existing partners. These are Hapag-Lloyd, Ocean Network Express (ONE) and Yang Ming. The documents related to this collaboration were signed in Taipei on June 19. There, the four future members of THE Alliance also agreed to extend the duration of their collaboration, which began in 2017, by ten years—that is, until 2030.
Customers will primarily benefit from the expansion of THE Alliance on the important Far East-to-North Europe trade route. HMM will be bringing new and ultra-modern large ships into the partnership. Twelve ships with a capacity of 23,000 teus have been ordered and will be delivered in the second quarter of 2020. Plans call for these vessels to be deployed between Asia and North Europe. HMM will also be receiving eight more newbuildings, each with a capacity of 15,000 TEUs, in the second quarter of 2021, said a release.
