South Korea’s HMM Places $2.8B Order for 14 New Ships
South Korea’s largest shipping company HMM has ordered 12 new 13,000 TEU-class eco-friendly container ships from Korean shipbuilders, as well as two very large container ships, for a total of $2.82 billion.
The 12 containerships will be built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean, and all of them will be LNG-fueled vessels, HMM said.
The details for the other two very large containerships, reportedly ordered by the company, have not been disclosed.
According to the company, this large-scale order is the company’s first such investment since 2018.
In 2018, HMM placed a $2.22 billion order for 20 large vessels, including 12 24,000 TEU ships and eight 16,000 TEU ships, with Korea’s shipbuilders. This was followed by orders for 12 additional 13,000 TEU vessels in 2021, valued $1.25 billion, and nine 9,000 TEU methanol-fuelled vessels in 2023 for $990.5 million, continuing its strategy of placing major orders with domestic shipyards.
With the latest order, HMM plans to enhance its eco-friendly competitiveness by 12 twelve LNG-fueled containerships to its existing fleet of nine methanol-fueled and two LNG-fueled vessels, the company said.
HMM said the new large-scale investment will allow the company to expand capacity and strengthen its green competitiveness simultaneously in an increasingly competitive global shipping environment, and that it plans to continue investing based on its 2030 mid- to long-term strategy to further boost competitiveness.