Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has formed an alliance with two national compatriots in the shape of Heung-A Shipping and Sinokor Merchant Marine, which has now shaped a consortium called ‘HMM + K2’.  
Now obliged to a pact named ‘Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which was signed on the 3rd of January 2017, HMM will officially adhere to a collaboration with the two Korea Intra Asia trade carriers starting from March, as the parties plan to ink the HMM + K2 consortium deal next month.
The consortium will cover Japan, China and South East/West Asia trades, HMM said, adding that this agreement will be automatically renewed for successive two year terms. 
A representative of HMM has said that the move “will acquire competitiveness against mega shippers, as HMM will have absolute access to the networks belonging to the two companies, which represent trades between Korea and Japan, in addition to trades between Korea and China. 
The move will provide benefits to the two smaller companies in the sense that they will make significant cost savings and have the ability to learn close hand from a major shipping operator, which will enable improvements throughout the company. 
The consortium, which includes vessel sharing, slot exchange and slot purchase, plans to develop cooperation levels to include joint investment in port infrastructure and share container equipment for the medium and long term.