KMTC to Launch Own Korea–Vietnam Service With Two 1,000 TEU Vessels

KMTC will deploy two container vessels of roughly 1,000 TEU each on a new self-operated service linking South Korea, Vietnam and China from December 2026, replacing the slot-chartering arrangement that has carried its cargo on the trade until now.

The service, marketed as IPH, will run a four-port rotation: Incheon – Busan – Hai Phong – Xiamen – Incheon. It marks the first time KMTC puts its own tonnage and its own schedule on a Korea–Vietnam corridor it currently serves only through bought capacity.

What changes commercially?

Until now, KMTC has covered the same trade by chartering slots on CK Line's HPX service, which it resells to customers under the name HPX1. That arrangement gave KMTC access to the market without vessel risk, but left schedule control, capacity decisions and port coverage in CK Line's hands.

IPH ends that dependency. KMTC assigns two of its own vessels to the connection, taking direct operational control of tonnage, rotations and, by extension, the product it can offer shippers on the lane.

For cargo owners moving freight between Korean manufacturers and Vietnamese production hubs, the shift matters in practical terms. A directly operated loop typically means one accountable carrier, one booking channel and more predictable capacity on the specific ports named in the rotation, rather than a marketed sub-product of another operator's network.

What about port coverage?

There is a trade-off worth noting. CK Line's HPX service also calls at Gunsan in South Korea and Qinzhou in China — two ports that KMTC's existing HPX1 offering does not include. KMTC's new IPH loop likewise omits them, calling instead at Incheon, Busan, Hai Phong and Xiamen.

The net effect: KMTC maintains the same four-port coverage it offers today, simply under its own flag. Shippers needing Gunsan or Qinzhou directly will continue to look elsewhere, to CK Line itself or to other operators on the lane.

The rotation itself is a tight, logical loop. Incheon and Busan bookend the Korean side; Hai Phong serves northern Vietnam's manufacturing and export base; Xiamen anchors the Chinese leg. For intra-Asia tonnage in the 1,000 TEU class, that is a compact geography that keeps transit times short and fuel burn low.

What is still unknown?

Plenty of detail remains open. KMTC has not specified an exact commencement date, the identities of the two vessels, or the sailing frequency of the new loop. Until those parameters surface, forwarders and BCOs with Korea–Vietnam commitments cannot yet lock in schedules or compare transit products against the incumbent HPX arrangement.

The move also signals competitive intent on a lane that has carried growing intra-Asia volumes, with Vietnam standing as a key sourcing and production alternative within regional supply chains. A carrier willing to commit its own ships, rather than rent space, is betting that demand on the corridor supports direct investment.

Whether KMTC retains any slot position on CK Line's HPX after IPH launches, or exits the chartering arrangement entirely, has not been disclosed. That decision will shape how much competition the two carriers actually run head-to-head on the Korea–Vietnam trade.

Watch for the vessel nominations and port call details in the coming months — those announcements will set the real competitive benchmark on the lane from December 2026.