The Premier Alliance Faces Setback in Marketing Plans

The Premier Alliance, a new Asian liner grouping, had planned to start selling bookings later this week, something that will now likely have to be put on hold following intervention from the US.

The Premier Alliance is made up of members of the soon-to-disappear THE Alliance, minus Hapag-Lloyd, who is leaving it to join forces with Maersk in what will be called the Gemini Cooperation.

The Premier Alliance, consisting of Yang Ming, Ocean Network Express (ONE), and HMM, was meant to start marketing on Thursday ahead of its official launch on February 1. However, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) in Washington DC has put their plans on hold.

The FMC has asked the alliance members for more details. The commission has determined that the Premier Alliance agreement as submitted lacks sufficient detail to allow for a complete analysis of potential competitive impacts and whether the agreement fully complies with all statutory requirements.

The demand for further details will likely put Premier Alliance’s start of marketing back toward the end of December, so long as the FMC approves the group’s structure.