The merger of the two companies will create the world’s fifth largest ocean carrier, operating a total of 237 vessels (including UASC´s six recently received 18,800 TEU ships, known for their superior eco-efficiency credentials, as well as eleven newly built 15,000 TEU ships, the last of which will be delivered soon) with a total capacity of 1.6 million TEUs.An annual transport volume of 10 million TEU is expected to result in a combined turnover of approximately USD 12 billion.The combined company will remain a registered and stock listed company in Germany with its head office in Hamburg. CSAV, HGV (City of Hamburg) and Kühne Maritime will remain controlling shareholders of Hapag-Lloyd. The majority shareholders of UASC, Qatar Holding LLC (QH) and The Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (PIF), will become new key shareholders of Hapag-Lloyd holding 14 per cent (QH) and 10 per cent (PIF) respectively.The company will be the key player in the new “THE Alliance” – consisting of Hanjin, Hapag-Lloyd, K-Line, Mitsui O.S.K Lines, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Yang Ming. THE Alliance is scheduled to begin operation in April 2017 and will cover all East-West trade lanes including Asia-Middle East/Arabian Gulf and Red Sea.Following regulatory and contractual approvals, the merger is expected to be completed by the end of 2016. Until then, UASC and Hapag-Lloyd will continue to operate as stand-alone companies. Each company will also operate in its own alliance as currently structured until the end of March 2017, after which THE Alliance will commence operations.