HMM to Begin Cooperation with "THE Alliance" on April 1, Adding Seven East-West Routes

[Sejong = Asia Economy, reporter Joo Sangdon] The shipping alliance "THE Alliance," which HMM has joined, will officially begin operations on April 1. In addition, as part of its corporate renewal efforts, HMM has changed its company name to "HMM" (formerly Hyundai Merchant Marine).

On March 31, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced that, with HMM beginning full-scale cooperation under the shipping alliance system, the number of East-West routes will expand from 20 to 27, and weekly shipping capacity will increase by 11.3%.

HMM became a full member of "THE Alliance," one of the world's top three shipping alliances, in June 2019, thanks to government support under the shipping industry revitalization policy. As a result, starting April 1, HMM will expand to five North American routes and two Middle Eastern routes, increasing its weekly shipping capacity to approximately 43,000 TEU (1 TEU equals one 20-foot container). Together with existing alliance members Hapag-Lloyd (Germany), ONE (Japan), and Yang Ming (Taiwan), HMM will be able to offer expanded services to shippers for the next ten years.

In particular, HMM had previously served the Europe route by purchasing shipping space from other companies, as it did not have its own vessels on this route. However, starting at the end of April, HMM plans to sequentially deploy twelve 24,000 TEU-class ultra-large vessels-the world's largest, ordered in September 2018-on the Europe route, which is expected to enhance cost competitiveness through economies of scale.

Furthermore, since the second half of 2017, HMM has been pursuing a name change to enhance corporate renewal and its global standing. By gathering feedback from domestic and international shippers, academia, industry, and related experts, and holding internal meetings, HMM worked to build consensus on the name change. As a result, at the shareholders' meeting held on March 27, it was finally decided to change the company name to "HMM Company Limited."

The name change to HMM is currently undergoing court registration procedures, and HMM plans to hold an official name declaration ceremony on April 1 to formally announce the change and immediately use the new name in domestic and international business activities.

Moon Seonghyeok, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, stated, "HMM's full-scale cooperation within THE Alliance is a significant achievement of our shipping industry revitalization policy, as it means our domestic carrier is now able to collaborate alongside leading global shipping companies. The government will continue to actively support domestic shipping companies so they can further strengthen their global competitiveness."