Hanjin Shipping launches Vietnam - Taiwan - Singapore feeder service

Hanjin Shipping announced on April 24th the launch of its new HMX (Ho Chi Minh Express) service effective from May, 2008.

The new HMX is a dedicated feeder service jointly operated by Hanjin Shipping and APL (American President Line). Each line deploys one 700 TEU class vessel connecting Ho Chi Minh, Kaohsiung and Singapore.

Hanjin Shipping commented that currently the cargo volume between Vietnam, the U.S. and Europe is rapidly growing regardless of the cargo capacity available in the trade, causing frequent delays and higher feederages.

In this regard, the company believes establishing its own dedicated feeder service rather than relying on other feeder services will largely improve its transshipment service from Vietnam to the U.S. and Europe, especially during the peak seasons. Moreover, Hanjin Shipping will be able to provide stable cargo capacity and schedule to its customers using the trade.

Meanwhile, Hanjin Shipping is also developing new dedicated feeder services to follow the ones established in the Arabian Sea in 2004, Persian Gulf in 2005, Singapore-Thailand-Bangladesh in 2006 and North China-China in 2007. The company aims to expand its feeder network in major Asian ports where transshipment cargo is increasing in order to provide better customer service.<Korea Shipping Gazette>