[ Hapag Lloyd, MISC, NYK, OOCL and P&O Nedllo... ]

Hapag Lloyd, MISC, NYK, OOCL and P&O Nedlloyd Have Agreed to New Allia
nce

Hapag Lloyd, MISC, NYK Line, OOCL and P&O Nedlloyd are pleased to anno
unce that they gave agreed to form a major new alliance to serve the m
ain East/West maarkets.
This new alliance will be the largest such strategic grouping in the w
orld, employing over 100 deep-sea container ships.
It will offer:
·the widest choice to customers in the Asia/Europe service;
·a comprehensive and competitive service in the Asia/North America tr
ade;
·A strong focus on quality;
·a combination of the worldwide fleets of the partners to ensure the
most effective aset utilization;
·improved efficiency through close cooperation within equipment inter
charge and inland operation.
In a joint statement the members of the new alliance said “We are gla
d to announce this long term co-operation between major international
lines. Togather we will have a balanced fleet deployment in the major
trades in world container shipping. This will create an exceptionally
strong product to meet our customers’ needs both for the present and
the future, as well as generate further efficiencies. the new consorti
um will also bring new opportunities and value to all the member carri
ers and customers.
The Asia/Europe service will comprise six loops, each employing 8 vess
els and ensuring uniguely fast and direct port to port connections. Th
ere will be give weekly sailings to North Europe and one weekly direct
sailing to the Mediterranean. The key elements of the Europe/Asia loo
ps include a gast direct service to Japan, two Korea and Taiwan calls,
five ports served in China and direct services to/from the Mediterran
ean, Red Sea/Gulf and Clolmbo.
The Asia-North American service will comprise seven loops-one via Suez
and one via Panama and five West Coast services. These provide compre
hensive and competitive services between all the main Asia markets to
and from both West and East Coast of the USA.
It is aspected that these new services, after an orderly transition, w
ill start within the first quarter of 1998.