HMM Deploys All 12 Vessels of 24,000 TEU-Class Container Ships... Becomes World's 8th Largest Shipping Company

Container Capacity of 700,000 TEU... Rising as the World's 8th Largest Shipping Company

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] HMM announced on the 13th that it has deployed twelve 24,000 TEU (a unit referring to one 6m container) class container ships on the Asia-Europe route. This came as they received the 12th ship, 'HMM Saint Petersburg,' from Samsung Heavy Industries on the 11th.

Starting with the Algeciras in April, HMM has been sequentially deploying twelve container ships received from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries at approximately five-month intervals on the Europe route. Among them, the first ship, Algeciras, launched in May, set a world record with a loading capacity of 19,621 TEU, and the full-load streak has continued up to the 10th ship.

In particular, both the Algeciras and the second ship, Oslo, departed fully loaded even on their return voyages from Europe. Considering that the usual loading rate on return routes is around 60%, there is an analysis that HMM’s new fleet has begun to realize 'economies of scale.' In fact, after checking operating costs, HMM found that the 24,000 TEU ultra-large container ships have about 13% fuel cost savings per TEU compared to the average 15,000 TEU container ships currently operating on the Europe route, demonstrating cost competitiveness.

Moon Sung-hyuk, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, said, "The deployment of twelve 24,000 TEU world’s largest container ships on the Europe route will be a great foundation for rebuilding South Korea’s shipping industry," adding, "I hope HMM fulfills its role as a core company in the national key industry that stably supports our export-driven economy and contributes as a model of win-win cooperation between shipowners and cargo owners."

Meanwhile, with the deployment of these ultra-large ships, HMM’s total fleet capacity, which had been maintained in the low 400,000 TEU range, has surpassed 700,000 TEU. Through this, HMM has raised its ranking from the 9th to the 8th largest shipping company in the world based on fleet capacity.

HMM’s fleet capacity is expected to increase to about 850,000 TEU next year when it receives all eight 16,000 TEU container ships currently under construction at Hyundai Heavy Industries in the first half of the year. HMM aims to reach 1 million TEU by 2022. The company explains that if this proceeds smoothly, it will recover to the 1 million TEU level, which is the combined fleet capacity of Hanjin Shipping and HMM in 2016.

HMM CEO Bae Jae-hoon said, "Before the deployment of ultra-large ships, there were some concerns and worries, but the efficiency of ultra-large ships is being proven in the global market," adding, "We will strive to make the public feel the definite change in rebuilding South Korea’s shipping industry and do our best to create a stable logistics environment that coexists and develops with our export companies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.