In a bid to fill in for financially troubled Hanjin, which was recently announced as filing for court receivership, Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) is to create a ‘Mini Alliance’ with Sinokor Merchant Marine and Heung-A Shipping and Korea Marine Transport, according to the Korea Herald.
An unnamed HMM official said: “The decision was made in order to minimise losses of the shippers on the Southeast Asian route due to Hanjin Shipping fallout and to compete with global shipping lines.”
Competing with global shipping lines seems to be a clear driving factor for the creation of the new alliance, after previous reports that HMM was looking to absorb Hanjin’s assets.
This solution appears to be the most logical to retain services that would have otherwise been put in jeopardy as a result of Hanjin’s collapse.
Technical Paper: New Global Supply Chain Principles
Shipping Consultants Drewry recently said that Hanjin’s demise emphasises how unsafe global carriers are and how they ‘will not always be rescued’.
Drewry add that unless shippers assist in helping carriers stay afloat, they will instead have to pay more attention to the warning signs.
The shipping industry is set to undergo significant change in 2017, with the entrance of a number of other global shipping lines.
However, whether or not the new ‘Mini Alliance’ will rectify most of the instability currently taking place in the shipping industry is unclear, however, in the short-term, this may help to put a stopper into the boiling uncertainty present in the global supply chain.
