Expanding and Reshaping

Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has set to expand and reorganize its services in the Middle East to lead the Asia-Middle East container services.
Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has set to expand and reorganize its services in the Middle East to lead the Asia-Middle East container services.

 

Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) announced on July 4 that it has set to expand and reorganize its services in the Middle East by dividing the current Korea-Middle East Service (KMS) into the Korea-to-Middle East Express (KME) and the China-to-Middle East Express (CME). The company added that it invited officials of the major agencies in the region on June 29, and completed discussions on the business cooperation, saying it will kick off the services in earnest starting from July 7.

Such a measure will boost HMM’s market share in the Asia-Middle Eastern market from the existing eight percent to 13 percent, pushing it into the first place in terms of the market share, according to the company.

The KME route, a reorganized service of the KMS, will be operated by six container carriers including three 8,600 TEU vessels and three 6,800 TEU ships, which shortens the current sailing days by two days. The container carriers sail on the route of Gwangyang and Busan in Korea, Ningbo and Yantian in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Port Klang in Malaysia, Karachi in Pakistan, Bandar Abbas in Iran and Jebel Ali Abu Dhabi in UAE.

HMM will also deploy six 4,600 TEU container ships to the newly added CME service. The voyage from Shanghai in China to Dammam in Saudi Arabia takes around 18 days, two to three days shorter than those of other container lines. The service route goes through Qingdao, Shanghai and Xiamen in China, Kaohsiung in Taiwan, Shekou in China, and then to the Middle East.

One of the South Korea’s national flag carriers plans to bolster the Middle East service by deploying the seven 13,100 TEU container ships operated in the Asia-North Europe Service (LP6) into the Asia-Mediterranean Express (EUM) in due order until 

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