Maersk Line and Damco to merge in 2019

A.P. Moller-Maersk has announced that it will merge Damco Supply Chain Services and Maersk Line’s Ocean Product. 

The company said that this will enhance the customer experience by ensuring fewer touchpoints and a more comprehensive service offering.

The operator of Maersk Line, the world’s largest container shipping company, has been restructuring the business over the past several years, to renew its focus on supply chain service offerings.

“Today we are taking further steps in the transformation of our business on a structural level and how we go to market, enabling us to offer more solutions to our customers in a simpler way,” said Søren Skou, CEO of A.P. Moller-Maersk.

"Our employees play a key role in making this happen and therefore we are at the same time empowering our frontline organisation who is closest to our customers.”

The merger will take effect on 1 January 2019 and will be headed by Vincent Clerc, Maersk’s Chief Commercial Officer.

On top of these changes, the company announced that three of its regional carrier brands - including MCC Transport, Sealand and Seago Line will go to market as “SeaLand - A Maersk Company" to help strengthen brand recognition.

"This integration marks a big milestone on Maersk’s current growth journey towards operating as one integrated company,”  Søren Skou added.

“We are in a strong position to deliver solutions that meet our customers end-to-end supply chain management needs, thereby tapping into markets covering the whole journey from producer to consumer by building on our business strengths.”

SM Lines Forms Strategic Alliance with Vinalines

South Korea’s container carrier SM Lines has forged a strategic alliance with state-owned shipping firm Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) in an effort to secure a stable foothold in Southeast Asia’s fast-growing shipping logistics market.

The partners would share cargo and expand business cooperation under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in Hanoi on September 10, 2018. Vinalines will dispatch a ship to support SM Lines on a route covering South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand.

SM Lines, which is a part of Samra Midas Group, agreed to help Vinalines set up a business branch in South Korea. For their long-term strategy, the two companies will consider setting up a joint venture with the aim to become leading players in Asia.

“With the signing of this MOU, we will strengthen the strategic alliance between South Korea and Vietnam, work together to develop new markets and spearhead the shipping market,” Woo oh-hyun, SM Group chairman, said.

The two companies will jointly develop and operate the container shipping business to increase their competitiveness. Additionally, Vinalines could expand its business into Asia while SM Lines hopes to increase its influence in Vietnam.

SM Lines acquired a U.S.-Asia route from Hanjin Shipping, which was liquidated in February 2017. The company has launched a series of joint routes with domestic and foreign partners to strengthen its competitiveness.

Yang Ming Adds New 14,000 TEU Boxship to Its Fleet

Japan-based Imabari Shipbuilding held a naming ceremony for the new 14,000 TEU container vessel YM Wellbeing on September 18, 2018.

The vessel is the first from the batch of five boxships Taiwan’s shipping firm Yang Ming Marine chartered from Shoei Kisen Kaisha, the shipowning arm of Imabari.

The cotainership giant is the 16th 14,000 TEU vessel to join Yang Ming’s global container fleet.

The new ship is designed with a nominal capacity 14,220 TEU and equipped with 1,000 reefer plugs. It features a length of 366.44 meters and a beam of 51.2 meters.

Yang Ming informed that it plans to deploy the new ship in THE Alliance’s MD2 service as of October 5. The ports of call are in the following order: Pusan–Qingdao–Ningbo–Shanghai–Kaohsiung–Shekou–Singapore–Piraeus–La Spezia–Genoa–Fos Sur Mer–Piraeus–Singapore–Hong Kong–Pusan.

The company added that, with the newbuilding, it will gain more strength in the competitive market through this robust network and deliver more efficient and comprehensive services.

NYK to Combine Port and Harbor Transportation Businesses

Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and Mitsubishi Logistics Corporation (MLC) agreed to form a joint holding company to integrate port and harbor transportation business companies of NYK.

Specifically, the integration relates to the management of the four NYK Group terminal operation companies in Japan, and merging of UNI-X Corporation and Nippon Container Terminals.

” The aim is to consolidate quality improvement efforts and enhance long term service stability for port and harbor transportation business of the company group,” NYK said announcing the move.

NYK is the majority shareholder in the joint holding company with 51% stake, while MLC will hold the remaining 49% stake in the new entity.

The deal is subject to administrative approval by the authorities concerned and necessary proceedings.

Once, and if, the regulatory approvals are obtained, the duo plans to establish the holding company by November 2018, and merge UNI-X and NCT by January 2019.

Source: World Maritime News