Korea Line Corporation (KLC), which became a surprise new entrant on the transpacific box trades last month, has revealed details of its first two strings to the US west coast. KLC, part of the Samla Midas Group (SM Group), beat out Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) to take over the transpacific assets of bankrupt Hanjin Shipping for $31.5m.
The two transpacific strings, due to launch next April, will centre primarily on the Pacific South West (PSW) market, with one string using five 4,200 teu ships focused on the Central China market while a second string deploying six 6,500 teu ships is focused on the South China and Korea export market.
Analsysts Alphaliner anticipate that KLC, hitherto a dry bulk operator, is also expected to launch several intra-Asia services next year that will focus on the Korea to West India and Southeast Asia markets.
