On Sunday 20 Nov., Hyundai Merchant Marine denied a news report that it failed to join the 2M Alliance that the company has sought for months as part of its normalization plan. The Journal of Commerce reported, Friday, that the 2M Alliance would not include HMM, based on a confirmation statement which the biweekly magazine claimed to have obtained from Maersk Line.
The JOC said HMM would instead collaborate with Maersk Line and the Mediterranean Shipping Company through a slot purchase agreement which would allow Maersk to take over Hyundai’s chartered vessels and slots, particularly in trans-Pacific trade.
The Korean shipping company, however, denied the report, saying that Maersk had confirmed the news report was not true.
“Maersk Line apologized (to us for the misinformed news) and pledged to request a correction from the JOC,” said HMM officials. “(The company) is still in negotiations over details of the membership process with the 2M Alliance. The official membership contract will likely be wrapped up no later than early next month.”
Since May, HMM has sought to join the 2M Alliance, the world’s largest alliance for shipping companies, in which Maersk and MSC are the members.
