The group, called THE Alliance, includes big Asian and European companies in the latest push for economies of scale in the troubled industry.
It will bring together Hamburg-based Hapag-Lloyd, Japan's trio Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha ("K"-Line) and Mitsui OSK Line (MOL) with South Korea's Hanjin Shipping, and Taiwan's Yang Ming Marine Transport.
Separately, Hapag-Lloyd is in ongoing merger talks with the United Arab Shipping Company (UASC), with view to that company also joining the alliance later. UASC would increase the overall alliance capacity to over four million TEU.
