South Korea’s flagship in container shipping HMM continues to expand its fleet. A total of eight newbuildings were ordered for USD 1.4 billion.
The liner shipping company formerly known as Hyundai Merchant Marine has ordered the vessels from two shipyards belonging to the HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Group.
As the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is building two container ships and the shipyard Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries a further six ships. According to reports, the units will have a capacity of 13,400 TEU and an LNG dual-fuel propulsion system. Deliveries are scheduled for 2028 and 2029.
HMM, the No. 8 in the global container shipping line market, recently exceeded the 1 million TEU mark. According to the industry service Alphaliner, the carrier has a market share of 3.1% and operates a fleet of 95 ships – including 70 of its own.
HD KSOE, itself a subsidiary of HD Hyundai Co., controls three shipbuilding companies, including HD Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. HD Hyundai Mipo is to merge with HD Hyundai Heavy next month. Since the beginning of the year, HD KSOE has received shipbuilding orders worth $16.22 billion, reaching 89.9% of its annual target, it said. Of the 116 ships ordered during this period, 69 were container ships. The combined container capacity of the ships ordered is 720,000 TEU, the highest level in 18 years – since 2007, when orders reached 793,473 TEU.
