As the P3 Network and G6 Alliance inch closer to clearing all obstacles to their vessel-sharing plans in the United States, the CKYHE alliance is playing catch-up by asking the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to likewise grant its request to discuss further cooperation in the United States trades.
In Agreement No.012280 filed with the FMC late last month, the CKYHE members—Cosco Container Line, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Yang Ming, Hanjin Shipping, and the newly recruited Evergreen Line—are formally seeking authorization to discuss among themselves a possible cooperation on trade lanes to and from the United States.
“The parties have been cooperating in various foreign-foreign trades with considerable success. The purpose of this agreement is to authorise the parties to discuss and determine whether and how the synergies and efficiencies that have characterised their foreign-foreign cooperation might be replicated in the US foreign trades,” according to the filing.
“Toward that end, the parties are empowered to discuss a wide range of options regarding possible co-operation, and to exchange information relevant to the evaluation of such options, in order to provide the highest quality, most efficient service(s) in the trade and to optimise the use of each party’s assets.”
If the request is approved, the alliance will then be cleared to explore the possibility of expanding its cooperation agreement on the Asia-North Europe and Asia-Mediterranean trade lanes to include the U.S. trades.
It is expected to take at least 45 days from the date of filing for the FMC to approve the start of discussions. And it will likely take another 45 days after the CKYHE member-carriers file the alliance agreement detailing the proposed expanded service network in the U.S. before the commission hands down its decision.
Evergreen first made known it was joining the CKYH Alliance in February this year with an announcement it would cooperate with the consortium on the Asia-Europe trades.
For its part, the P3 Network received the FMC’s permission to conduct collaborative activities in the United States in March this year, and it gained the European Commission’s go-ahead to ply its trade in the European Union early this month.
As for the G6 Alliance, it received clearance from the U.S. regulatory body for its proposed service expansion to the Asia-North America West Coast and trans-Atlantic trade lanes in April of this year.
With overcapacity, downward rate pressure, and weak demand threatening to sink the ocean transport sector, carriers have been aligning themselves into three major global consortia in a race to dominate the hotly contested east-west trades.
