Hyundai Merchant Marine is forming a mini-alliance with Heung-A and Sinokor for intra-Asia shipping routes. This comes after the decision to not enter the 2M Alliance, and highlights that industry consolidation need not require the sort of mega-mergers announced in 2016. HMM’s fleet is 4.2x that of the two combined – Panjiva analysis based on Alphaliner data shows – and none have new vessels on order. This suggests it may look for other partnerships to continue its growth.