HMM vessels can now sail from Busan to Indonesia in 7 days

HMM is launching a direct shipping service connecting Busan and Indonesian cities, reducing travel time to seven days. The aim is to strengthen services in Indonesia and enhance services in the Philippines.

HMM’s 4,600-teu container ship [HMM]

HMM is launching a shipping service directly connecting Busan and the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Surabaya.

The new service will be updated in HMM's exclusive Intra-Asia Cross Network (ICN) service, introduced in May, and is slated to begin operations on Oct. 9.

The direct service allows for a significant reduction in travel time, with HMM vessels now able to reach Indonesia from Busan in seven days, positioning it as one of the fastest options available for this route.

ICN will deploy six 1,700-teu container ships, alternating between two routes: String2, connecting Indonesia, and String1, bridging Vietnam and Thailand. For the String2 route, the ports of call include Incheon, Qingdao, Busan (North Port), Jakarta, Surabaya, Busan (New Port), Busan (North Port), Shanghai, and Ningbo.

“The renewed ICN service is aimed at strengthening services in Indonesia, traditionally considered a major market in Asia,” an HMM official said. “We will provide competitive services to customers, with expectations of increased port activity in Busan and Incheon as a result.”

HMM also plans to enhance its services in the Philippines by expanding its Tianjin To Philippines (TTP) service. The expansion, set to commence on Oct. 10, will add Dalian, Tianjin, and Ningbo, three ports in North China.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]