Controversy over 2M Membership
Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. (HMM) released a statement refuting the Wall Street Journal’s recent report on HMM’s failure in joining 2M alliance on December 1.
The Wall Street Journal said on November 30 (local time), “The world’s largest container-shipping alliance has decided not to allow Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. to join amid customer backlash, dealing a blow to the troubled South Korean shipping concern," by quoting the saying of a senior executive with the 2M alliance who declined to be identified. The executive said, “We reckon that at this point going to bed with Hyundai could shake customer confidence so we are looking for looser forms of cooperation.” The media added that Hyundai Merchant wasn't immediately available for comment.
The US-based economic journal went on saying, “In a November note to clients, Maersk Line said that rather than Hyundai Merchant becoming a 2M alliance member, the parties are looking ‘at other cooperation possibilities’ including taking over Hyundai Merchant’s chartered vessels and deploying them into the 2M network.”
In the statement, however, HMM said, “The WSJ’s article released today didn’t include a full understanding of what HMM and 2M discussed. HMM and 2M are still in negotiations over details of alliance membership and we will wrap up the negotiations at the meetings scheduled in Europe next week.”
Moreover, the company added that it plans to give a full detail of its results and backdrops to the press as soon as the negotiations are completed later. Hyundai Merchant had signed a memorandum of understanding to join the 2M alliance in July.
Meanwhile, HMM formed a consortium with TiL, a subsidiary of MSC’s terminal business, to join a bid to acquire the Total Terminals International (TTI)’s Long Beach terminal. The partnership of MSC and HMM will help the TTI Long Beach terminal to be normalized early and strengthen its competitiveness. With mutual cooperation, it will be able to provide customers with efficient logistics and terminal services, said HMM.