THE Alliance announces plans for its competitive product

31 services covering all East West trade lanes with short transit times / Fast shuttle services / Dedicated Middle East loop / 240 modern and most efficient ships / Comprehensive port coverage with over 75 ports in Asia, North Europe, the Mediterranean, North America and the Middle East

<Tokyo>, 8 November 2016: The members of THE Alliance announced today the details of the plan for their product starting from April 2017. THE Alliance plans to deploy a fleet of more than 240 modern ships in the Asia /Europe, North Atlantic and Trans-Pacific trade lanes including the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf/Red Sea. The start of THE Alliance as the most integrated liner shipping consortia is scheduled for April 2017 (subject to completion of all relevant regulatory requirements).

"The product of THE Alliance is a milestone which will significantly improve the service offering for all shippers on the East West trade lanes", said the member carriers Hapag-Lloyd, "K"Line, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Yang Ming in a statement. The product will be characterized by fast transit times, a broad port coverage and deployment of modern and most efficient ships. "Our best ship for the loop principle and dedicated shuttle service design are the basis for one of the most competitive products available in the market", the member lines said. The comprehensive network of 31 services would connect more than 75 major ports throughout Asia, North Europe, the Mediterranean, North America, Canada, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Indian Sub Continent and the Middle East with fast transit times and a wide range of direct port-port-connections.

The product of THE Alliance will feature eight services in the Asia/Europe trade including three services covering the important Mediterranean market. One dedicated service will cater for customers in the Middle East, connecting the key ports of China, South Korea and South East Asia with Dammam, Jubail and an Arabian Gulf hub port. 16 joint services will be operated by THE Alliance members on the Trans Pacific trade. Six loops will serve the North Atlantic trade covering a wide range of North European and Mediterranean ports as well as those in the US, Canada and Mexico. The base-plan port rotations of the total 31 services will be as follows:

Asia and North Europe

FE1:Kobe - Nagoya - Shimizu - Tokyo - South East Asia Hub - Jeddah - Rotterdam - Hamburg - UK - Le Havre - South East Asia Hub - Kobe

FE2:Xingang - Dalian - Qingdao - Shanghai - Ningbo - South China/Hong Kong - South East Asia Hub - West Med Hub - UK - Hamburg - Rotterdam - Le Havre - West Med Hub - Arabian Gulf Hub - South China/Hong Kong - Qingdao - Xingang

FE3:South China/Hong Kong - Xiamen - Kaohsiung - South China/Hong Kong - Rotterdam - Hamburg - Antwerp - UK - East Med Hub - South East Asia Hub - South China/Hong Kong

FE4:Pusan - Ningbo - Shanghai - Rotterdam - Hamburg - Antwerp - UK - South China/Hong Kong - Pusan

FE5:Laem Chabang - Cai Mep - South East Asia Hub - Colombo - Rotterdam - Hamburg - UK - Antwerp - Jeddah - Colombo - South East Asia Hub - Laem Chabang

Asia and the Mediterranean

MD1:Qingdao - Shanghai - Ningbo - South China/Hong Kong - South East Asia Hub - East Med Hub - Barcelona - Valencia - Fos - Genoa - East Med Hub - South East Asia Hub - South China/Hong Kong - Qingdao

MD2:Pusan - Ningbo - Shanghai - Kaohsiung - South China/Hong Kong - South East Asia Hub - Jeddah - La Spezia - Genoa - Barcelona - Valencia - South East Asia Hub - South China/Hong Kong - Pusan

MD3:Pusan - Shanghai - Ningbo - South China/Hong Kong - South East Asia Hub - Jeddah - East Med Hub - Ashdod - East Med Hub - Istanbul (Ambarli) - Izmir - Mersin - East Med Hub - Jeddah - South East Asia Hub - Kaohsiung - Pusan

Asia and the Middle East

AGX:Pusan - Qingdao - Shanghai - Ningbo - South China/Hong Kong - South East Asia Hub - Arabian Gulf Hub - Dammam - Jubail - Arabian Gulf Hub - South East Asia Hub - Ningbo - Pusan

Trans Pacific - West Coast

PN1:Qingdao - Shanghai - Nagoya - Tokyo - Pacific North-West (US) - Pacific North-West (CA) - Tokyo - Nagoya - Kobe - Qingdao

PN2:South East Asia Hub - Laem Chabang - Cai Mep - South China/Hong Kong - Xiamen - Kaohsiung - Pacific North-West (CA/US) - Pacific North-West (CA/US) - Tokyo - Kobe - Kaohsiung - South East Asia Hub

PN3:South China/Hong Kong - Ningbo - Shanghai - Pusan - Pacific North-West (CA) - Pacific North-West (US) - Pusan - South China/Hong Kong

PS1:Kobe - Nagoya - Tokyo - Sendai - Pacific South-West (US) - Tokyo - Nagoya - Kobe

PS2:Kobe - Nagoya - Shimizu - Tokyo - Pacific South-West (US) - Tokyo - Kobe

PS3:South East Asia Hub - Laem Chabang - Cai Mep - South China/Hong Kong - Pacific South-West (US) - Tokyo - South China/Hong Kong - South East Asia Hub

PS4:South China/Hong Kong - Kaohsiung - Keelung - Pacific South-West (US) - Keelung - Kaohsiung - South China/Hong Kong

PS5:Shanghai - Ningbo - Pacific South-West (US) - Shanghai

PS6:Qingdao - Ningbo - Shanghai - Pusan - Pacific South-West (US) - Pusan - Qingdao

PS7:Xiamen - South China/Hong Kong - Pacific South-West (US) - Xiamen

PS8:Dalian - Xingang - Qingdao - Pusan - Pacific South-West (US) - Pusan - Dalian

Trans Pacific - East Coast (via Panama and Suez)

EC1:Ningbo - Shanghai - Pusan - Tokyo - (Panama Canal) - Caribbean Hub - South Atlantic (US) - Norfolk - Miami (Seasonal) - Caribbean Hub - (Panama Canal) - Balboa - Pacific South-West (US) - Tokyo - Kobe - Ningbo

EC2:Qingdao - Ningbo - Shanghai - Pusan - (Panama Canal) - New York - Boston - South Atlantic (US) - (Panama Canal) - Pusan - Qingdao

EC3:Kaohsiung - Xiamen - South China/Hong Kong - Shanghai - (Panama Canal) - South Atlantic (US) - Norfolk - (Panama Canal) - Balboa - Pusan - Kaohsiung

EC4:Kaohsiung - South China/Hong Kong - Cai Mep - South East Asia Hub - (Suez Canal) - New York - Norfolk - South Atlantic (US) - (Suez Canal) - South East Asia Hub - Kaohsiung

EC5:Laem Chabang - Cai Mep - South East Asia Hub - Colombo - (Suez Canal) - Halifax - New York - South Atlantic (US) - Norfolk - Halifax - (Suez Canal) - Arabian Gulf Hub - South East Asia Hub - Laem Chabang

Trans Atlantic

AL1:Bremerhaven - Antwerp - UK - Norfolk - Philadelphia - New York - Halifax - Bremerhaven

AL2:UK - Le Havre - Rotterdam - Bremerhaven - New York - South Atlantic (US) - UK

AL3:Antwerp - Bremerhaven - UK - South Atlantic (US) - Port Everglades - Houston - South Atlantic (US) - Norfolk - Antwerp

AL4:UK - Antwerp - Bremerhaven - Le Havre - Veracruz - Altamira - Houston - New Orleans - Mobile - UK

AL5:UK - Rotterdam - Bremerhaven - Antwerp - Le Havre - South Atlantic (US) - Caribbean Hub - Pacific South-West (US) - Pacific North-West (US) - Pacific North-West (CA) - Pacific South-West (US) - Balboa - Caribbean Hub - South Atlantic (US) - UK

AL6:Livorno - La Spezia - Genoa - Fos - Barcelona - Valencia - West Med Hub - Halifax - New York - Norfolk - South Atlantic (US) - West Med Hub - Valencia - Livorno

The service network of THE Alliance is expected to cover more than 24 ports in Asia including ten Chinese and five Japanese ports with direct calls as well as 20 ports in the US and Canada, six North European and 13 Mediterranean ports, six ports in the Middle East and six ports in Central America/Caribbean.

Through this robust network, THE Alliance will offer a superior, reliable, efficient, and wide ranging product suite to shippers in the East/West lanes. The partners of THE Alliance will keep the market informed about further steps and the final, more precise service rotations.