Following an initial announcement in October last year, Japan’s big three carriers Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd (K Line), Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd (MOL), and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) have announced today (Wednesday 31 May) that their new joint venture will operate under the tradename ‘Ocean Network Express’; with a service commencement date set for April 1 2018.

The establishment of this new joint venture which will integrate the three companies’ container shipping businesses, including worldwide terminal operation businesses. They plan to establish a holding company based in Japan and an operating company incorporated in Singapore. The operating company will also have regional headquarters set up in Singapore, Hong Kong, London (UK), Richmond (USA), and Sao Paulo (Brazil).

In March this year, the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) gave the nod to the proposed joint venture of the three Japanese lines. “The move will allow Ocean Network Express to better meet customers’ needs by providing high quality, competitive services through the consolidation and enhancement of the three companies’ global network and service structures,” the joint statement said.

Uniserve Seafreight Director Steve Ireland commented: “Uniserve have always been big supporters of the Japanese carriers for the past 30 years, and see this as a positive move for our industry. We are looking forward to supporting the new Ocean Network Alliance and moving forward together in a stronger partnership”.

Following the first announcement of the container shipping business merger back in October 2016, the three carriers have been progressing towards their target of establishing the new joint venture. They said at the time that the decision to integrate for a joint venture came on the back of low oil prices, oversupply of trade capacity, sluggish cargo demand and container freight rates at historic lows.

The official announcement of Ocean Network Express is set to be announced once all anti-trust reviews are completed. For more information about the new joint venture, a new website has been launched at oceannetworkexpress.com. 

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