Hapag-Lloyd and United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) have signed a merger agreement that will create the world’s fifth-largest container shipping line and enable the new entity to become part of THE Alliance.
THE Alliance, which is currently formed of “K” Line, MOL and NYK Line with Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas Container Line is scheduled to begin operations on the key east-west trades in April.
The merger will enable UASC to continue emerging as a global presence and a young and efficient fleet alongside Hapag-Lloyd, which benefits from a broad diverse market coverage and a strong customer base. According to Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hamburg-based Hapag-Lloyd, the company will also have wider access to ultra-large container ships.
UASC will contribute six new 18,000-TEU vessels and eleven 15,000-TEU ships to the merged fleet, which will have an average size of 6,600 TEUs and an average age of 6.6 years.
The sovereign wealth funds of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which control UASC, will own 14% and 10% of the merged carrier, respectively.
Hapag-Lloyd and UASC will continue to operate as stand-alone companies until the merger is finalised and will both remain in their current alliances, G6 and Ocean Three until THE Alliance is launched.
Following regulatory and contractual approvals, the merger is expected to be finalised by the end of 2016.
Ship Efficiency Review News
To contact the reporter responsible for this article, please email editor@fathom-mi.com
