HMM Adds 4 Temporary Ships to Support Domestic Export Companies

Deployment to the US, Russia, Vietnam, and Others

HMM's 6800TEU-class container ship Shanghaiho

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] HMM announced on the 23rd that it will deploy four additional temporary vessels this month to support the smooth export operations of Korean companies.

Since August last year until last month, HMM has deployed a total of 11 temporary vessels: 8 times on the West Coast of the Americas route (Busan~LA), and once each on the East Coast of the Americas (Busan~Savannah), Europe, and Russia routes. Including the four vessels departing this time, the total will expand to 15. Notably, this is the first time that four vessels are deployed within a single month.

On the 20th of this month, the 6,800 TEU container ship HMM Shanghai departed from Busan New Port to the Port of LA on the West Coast of the Americas, carrying 5,504 TEUs of cargo. More than 70% of the total cargo consists of shipments from domestic mid-sized and small shippers.

The Vietnam route will see its first temporary vessel deployment this time. The 1,200 TEU container ship Yuchangho will depart from Busan to Haiphong, Vietnam on the 26th, carrying 1,034 TEUs of cargo.

The 1,800 TEU HMM Ulsanho will be deployed on the East Coast of the Americas route on the 27th, departing from Busan New Port and heading to the Port of New York, USA.

For the Russia route, the second temporary vessel will be deployed following last month. The 2,100 TEU Queen Esther will depart from Busan on the 28th, bound for Vostochny, Russia.

Meanwhile, since the first half of last year, maritime cargo volume, which had contracted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, surged rapidly from the second half, causing a shortage of shipping space on the Americas routes. This situation has recently spread to Europe and Asia routes as well, continuing to cause difficulties in cargo transportation for domestic export companies.

An HMM official stated, “As part of the win-win cooperation between domestic shipping companies and shippers, we plan to continuously support the smooth export operations of domestic companies,” adding, “As a representative national shipping company, we will take responsibility and make every effort to ensure that export companies’ cargo is transported without disruption.”

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