Japan’s big three shipping¹ conglomerates² have outlined plans to set aside one of the country’s most ferocious³ industrial rivalries⁴ amid brutal⁵ market conditions to establish a joint venture for their container-shipping businesses.

日本三大航运集团提出计划，拟搁置该国最激烈的行业竞争之一，为它们的集装箱航运业务建立一家合资企业。此举的背景是严峻的市场条件。

Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Mitsui OSK Lines and K Line said that, if approved by regulators, the joint venture would operate the world’s sixth biggest ¬container fleet, with about 7 per cent of global capacity.

日本邮船(Nippon Yusen Kaisha)、商船三井(Mitsui OSK Lines)和川崎汽船(K Line)表示，如果获得监管机构的批准，合资公司将经营世界第六大集装箱船队，约占全球总运力的7%。

The deal is the latest in a series of mergers⁶ involving container-shipping lines, spurred by sluggish⁸ trade growth and overcapacity that have served to create some of the worst conditions in the sector’s 60-year history.

这一协议是涉及集装箱航运业的一系列合并的最新发展，其推动因素是贸易增长乏力和运力过剩，给该行业造成60年历史上最糟糕的经营条件。

The three-way Japanese joint venture, set to be officially created on July 1 next year, is the industry’s first big deal since Hanjin Shipping, South Korea’s largest container line, in August became the first significant company in the ¬sector to seek bankruptcy⁹ protection in 30 years.

此前韩国最大的集装箱班轮公司韩进海运(Hanjin Shipping)在今年8月成为30年来业内第一家寻求破产保护的大型公司。将于明年7月1日正式成立的三家日本航运公司的合资企业，是该事件之后该行业第一笔大型合并交易。

The deal comes after Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd in July announced plans to take over United Arab Shipping. Last year, France’s CMA CGM announced it was taking over Singapore’s Neptune¹⁰ Orient Lines, while China Cosco and China Shipping outlined plans to merge⁷.

这笔交易达成之前，德国赫伯罗特(Hapag-Lloyd)今年7月宣布并购阿拉伯联合航运公司(United Arab Shipping)。去年法国达飞海运集团(CMA CGM)宣布并购新加坡东方海皇集团(Neptune Orient Lines)，而中国的中远(Cosco)和中国海运(China Shipping)介绍了合并计划。

All the deals have been driven by shipping lines’ efforts to create economies of scale. Analysts¹¹ said there was little to disguise the defensive¹² nature of the deal.

这些交易的驱动因素都是航运公司努力挖掘规模效益。分析师们表示，没有什么可以掩饰这些交易的防御性质。