Sinokor, Heung-A Integrate Shipping Operations
South Korean shipowners Heung-A Shipping and Sinokor Merchant Marine have confirmed that they are in talks to merge their container businesses, reports Pulse News.
According to various media reports, the South Korean liner companies have decided to merge their container shipping services by the end of the year before joining forces with Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM).
HMM had already agreed to become a strategic partner to Sinokor and Heung-A by creating an HMM+K2 consortium.
The two companies would sign the deal on April 3, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Korea Shipowners’ Association.
It said that Korea Shipping Partnership (KSP), an alliance of 14 liner operators, was launched last August under state sponsorship to restore Korea’s maritime status following the collapse of Hanjin Shipping, which had been Korea’s flag sea carrier and the world’s seventh largest shipping line.
Sinokor and Heung-A Shipping together account for 34 percent of Asia’s total fleet capacity excluding HMM and SM Line.