South Korea’s SM Shipping, the container liner newly formed by Samra Midas (SM) Group after it bought the Asia-North America route from bankrupt carrier Hanjin Shipping, is slated to go on its initial voyage in March.
For its maiden journey, the shipping line will ply the intra-Asia trade, sailing on the East and South China Sea. It will leave Korea’s Busan port on March 8 with 1,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers on board and is scheduled to make calls in China, Thailand, and Vietnam, according to local reports.
The company plans to establish a reservation system for consignors by the end of this week.
It will embark on its first full trans-Pacific service on the Asia-North America route on April 21, departing Busan for Long Beach Terminal in California.
The company earlier encountered problems with its proposed liner operations, including a lack of containers, that raised doubts on its capability to push through with its agenda. But it said the existing human and infrastructure resources of Hanjin Shipping provided support to the company’s plans.
SM Shipping is currently busy acquiring vessels to upgrade its fleet, having already purchased five 6,500-TEU ships, one 4,300-TEU vessel, and one 1,000-TEU vessel, and having leased five carriers with a load capacity of between 2,000 and 3,000 TEUs.
With its capacity now at about 47,000 TEUs, the company is said to be targeting a fleet of 21 ships with a capacity of 110,000 TEUs by 2018.
Construction firm SM Group officially launched SM Shipping in ceremonies January 6 this year at a former Hanjin Shipping office in Seoul.
Photo: Eduard47
