[THE INVESTOR]] Hyundai Merchant Marine will form a vessel-sharing alliance with local midsized container carriers to fill in for Hanjin Shipping that is under court receivership, the shipper said on Sept. 8.

South Korea’s second largest container carrier will join the new partnership, named Mini Alliance, with three other carriers Korea Marine Transport, Sinokor Merchant Marine and Heung-A Shipping. 



The alliance plans to deploy 15 vessels on four Southeast Asian routes – covering Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand from South Korean port cities -- starting from end-September in an effort to reduce damage caused by Hanjin’s halted operation.

“The decision was made in order to minimize losses of the shippers on the Southeast Asian route due to Hanjin Shipping fallout and to compete with global shipping lines,” an official of HMM said.

HMM plans to add one 5,000 TEU container ship, one 2,800 TEU, two 2,200 TEU and 1,700 TEU to the route later this month.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)