Americas News
THE Alliance Receives U.S. Approval
The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Wednesday announced that it has reviewed and approved the proposed THE Alliance agreement.
The approval enables the agreement between Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. (K Line), Hapag-Lloyd AG (Hapag-Lloyd), and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. (Yang Ming) to become effective on December 19, 2016.
"I am very cognizant of the concerns industry stakeholders had regarding provisions in this agreement, particularly those related to information sharing and joint procurement," said Mario Cordero, Federal Maritime Commission Chairman.
"This office will continue to carefully focus on the impacts of the carrier alliance restructuring that is taking place in the shipping industry. Considerable review and analysis goes into assessing a final agreement before it is allowed to go into force and I am grateful for the hard work of Commission staff."
The name of Hanjin Shipping Co. (Hanjin) is noticeably absent from the proposed THE Alliance agreement since the company filed for receivership at the end of August.
Earlier this week, Ship & Bunker reported that Hanjin's fellow South Korean shipping line Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., Ltd. (HMM) had reached an agreement for strategic cooperation with the 2M alliance members, Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. (MSC).
