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Heung-A launches lightning quick Korea-Hong Kong-Indonesia service
INTRA-Asia
specialist Heung-A Line now offers customers one of
the fastest transit times between Korea, Hong Kong and
the Indonesian port of Jakarta following the recent
launch of its joint-venture service the Pusan (Busan)-Jakarta
Express (PJX).
The new service, which the carrier
runs collaboratively with STX Pan Ocean and Sinokor
Merchant Marine, offers a transit time of just nine
days from the Korean port of Pusan to Jakarta, and just
five days from Hong Kong to the Indonesian port.
"Indonesia
is a growing market and most of our customers want their
cargo delivered faster. So we launched this express
service that just calls Korea, Hong Kong and then straight
to Jakarta. No more ports. We believe this will be a
big success," Heung-A Shipping representative for
Hong Kong, Mr Walter Hwang, told the Hong Kong Shipping
Gazette.
The service deploys three containerships,
each with a nominal capacity of 1,700 TEU and a loadable
capacity of 1,260 TEU, the Heung-A executive said.
General
manager for Kong Hing Agency, Heung-A Line's agent in
Hong Kong, Mr Wu said the PJX Express offers customers
in Hong Kong greater choice in addition to a fast transit
time.
"The customers are happy as there
had previously been very limited choices for mid-week
sailings on this route. So with our mid-week schedule
this gives them more choice, especially for consolidators,"
he said.
The key challenge for the carrier will
be to ensure that the service is punctual, a promise
that Mr Wu is confident that the line can deliver on.
"We
are very aware of this and for this service our target
will be consolidation cargo. So punctuality will be
very important," he said.
Heung-A Shipping
was established in 1961 and served primarily in the
Korea-Japan trade. However, over the years the carrier
has expanded its reach to cover the markets of Southeast
Asia, Hong Kong and mainland China.
The Korea-Japan
trade remains part of the company's core business today
in which it provides extensive coverage of the two nations'
seaports, calling at a total of over 30 ports in Korea and
Japan.
There are to date only three Korean carriers
that offer such extensive coverage of this market; including
Heung-A.
The carrier currently holds a 20 per
cent market share of all Korea-Japan business, handling
a total of 313,000 TEU per annum in this market alone.
Operating
in an industry that is often criticised for lacking
in service quality and differentiation, Heung-A Line
prides itself on its integrity and flexibility, thanks
to its commitment to relationship building with customers
and its "medium-is-beautiful" approach.
"We
are welcomed by the feeder carriers and also by freight
forwarders because we do our best not to roll cargo.
Many carriers will just collect the cargo [and overbook]
because they want to fill their ship. But for Heung-A
we will just manage on our basic allocation.
"If
for Hong Kong we have allocation of 100 TEU, we will
manage within this 100. If we don't have space we will
tell them. But if we promise to ship out, then we will
ship out. A promise is a promise. This is our philosophy,"
Mr Wu said.
This is why the carrier boasts many
long term customers, Mr Hwang added.
Another
advantage Heung-A offers is its approach to vessel acquisition,
which focuses only on smaller to medium-sized vessels.
As
an Intra-Asia operator this gives it far more flexibility
in terms of where it can deploy its vessels, both executives
confirmed.
"Many ports cannot handle bigger
vessels. You see Haiphong [Vietnam] it only has a draft
of 7.5 to eight metres. Bangkok [Thailand] also has
draft limitations, as do many other small ports. But
for us we can call all of these ports, not just the
majors," Mr Wu said.
In what is expected
to be a difficult year for container shipping lines
Mr Hwang said he expects Heung-A to receive some boost
to its business thanks to the new PJX Express service,
and its chemical tanker operations as well.
"Last
year in December we returned to breakeven in the tanker
business and so far this year January have been good
and the situation in the sector is getting better and
better," he said.
Another key to the line's
strategy this year will be to focus on high value cargo,
including reefer and out-of-gauge shipments, which typically
command greater rates.
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