Japan’s big three lines christen new merged container entity Ocean Network Express

Ocean Network Express is the name Japan’s three largest shipping companies have come up with for their new merged container shipping entity.

Scheduled to launch next April Ocean Network Express, which has the neat ONE acronym, brings the container operations of Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) and Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) together in a merged fleet that will boast approximately 1.4m slots. The new entity will be headquartered out of Singapore with regional headquarters to be established in Hong Kong, London, Richmond and Sao Paulo.

“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 three firms said in a joint release today. All three companies are part of THE Alliance, a new container grouping that launched in April this year.

Commenting on the Japanese merger, Splash regular container contributor Lars Jensen, who heads up Seaintelligence Consulting in Copenhagen, said: “The combined size of the Ocean Network Express in itself provides significant opportunities. Some of the key aspects the new carrier will need to focus on, is redesigning the parts of the networks not under the scope of THE Alliance’s services, as well as getting solid alignment within their local sales and customer service staff in order for all of them to pull in the same direction once the new entity is launched.”