HMM's First 16,000 TEU Ultra-Large Container Ship Departs Busan for the First Time

HMM's 16,000 TEU-Class Container Ship Operation Plan

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] HMM announced that its first 16,000 TEU-class ultra-large container ship, ‘HMM Nuriho,’ will make its maiden voyage from Busan Port on the 22nd, carrying domestic cargo.

HMM Nuriho is a vessel built as part of the government’s five-year maritime reconstruction plan. It is the first delivered container ship among the eight 16,000 TEU-class vessels contracted with Hyundai Heavy Industries in September 2018.

Although the original delivery schedule was set to begin sequentially from mid-April, two vessels, the first ship ‘HMM Nuriho’ and the second ship ‘HMM Gaonho,’ will be deployed early this month to timely support the transportation of domestic cargo.

The ship name ‘Nuri’ is a pure Korean word meaning ‘to spread one’s will throughout the world,’ selected through a contest among employees. All eight 16,000 TEU-class vessels are named with beautiful and easily pronounceable pure Korean words written in Hangul, serving also as ambassadors promoting the Republic of Korea.

HMM Nuriho has been assigned to the North Europe route FE4, which is jointly operated with members of The Alliance. The port call sequence is Busan~Shanghai~Ningbo~Yantian~Singapore~Rotterdam~Hamburg~Antwerp~Southampton~Yantian~Hong Kong~Shanghai~Busan.

One round trip on the FE4 route by HMM Nuriho takes about 84 days. The sailing distance is approximately 42,000 km, exceeding the circumference of the Earth, with plans to complete about four round trips annually. With a crew of 22, the same number as on previously operated 4,000~5,000 TEU-class vessels, it is expected to contribute to cost competitiveness and fuel efficiency through economies of scale.

The ship is equipped with a scrubber, a device that reduces sulfur oxide emissions, to comply with international environmental regulations.

Built as the largest vessel capable of passing not only the Suez Canal on the European route but also the Panama Canal connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, it has the advantage of being deployable on major global shipping routes.

In 2018, HMM signed a contract with the three major domestic shipbuilders to build 20 ultra-large vessels worth approximately 3.15 trillion KRW.

Among them, twelve 24,000 TEU-class world’s largest container ships have been deployed on the Asia-Europe route since April last year, achieving a record of 32 consecutive fully loaded voyages.

Starting with the first ship HMM Nuriho, HMM plans to receive a total of eight vessels from Hyundai Heavy Industries at intervals of one to two weeks until June.

With the addition of eight ultra-large container ships, HMM’s total fleet capacity will expand to 850,000 TEU. HMM plans to increase its fleet capacity to about 1 million TEU by 2022 through additional orders and charters.

HMM President Jaehoon Bae said, "All employees will do their best until the end to enter the global top class and rebuild the Korean shipping industry."

Meanwhile, at the naming ceremony of the second 16,000 TEU-class ship HMM Gaonho held this afternoon at Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Seonghyeok Moon, Korea Ocean Business Corporation President Hoseon Hwang, HMM CEO Jaehoon Bae, and Hyundai Heavy Industries CEO Youngseok Han attended.

HMM Gaonho is scheduled to begin service at Busan Port on the 27th and will be deployed on the North Europe route FE4 alongside the first ship HMM Nuriho.

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