HMM's 16,000 TEU Class 7th Vessel Named 'Daonho'... Deployed on Europe Route on the 20th

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] HMM announced that it held the naming ceremony for its 7th ultra-large container ship of 16,000 TEU class, the ‘HMM Daonho,’ on the 16th. Daonho is scheduled to make its maiden call at Busan Port on the 20th and will be actively deployed on the Europe route.

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

The naming ceremony held at Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Ulsan shipyard was attended by Choi Dae-hyun, Senior Vice President of KDB Industrial Bank, along with HMM President Bae Jae-hoon and Hyundai Heavy Industries President Han Young-seok. The event was conducted with a minimal number of attendees in consideration of COVID-19 prevention guidelines.

In his congratulatory speech, Senior Vice President Choi said, "Daon means ‘all good things come.’ I hope today’s naming ceremony will be a Daon for HMM’s global leap, our shipping and shipbuilding industries, and the Korean economy."

The ‘HMM Daonho’ will be deployed on the Europe route, where it operates jointly with members of The Alliance.

HMM had originally planned to sequentially take delivery of eight 16,000 TEU-class ultra-large vessels starting from mid-April. However, to alleviate difficulties faced by export companies due to a shortage of shipping capacity, the first ship ‘Nuriho’ and the second ship ‘Gaonho’ were deployed early on the Europe route in March. Subsequently, the third ship ‘Garamho,’ fourth ship ‘Mirho,’ fifth ship ‘Hanbadaho,’ and sixth ship ‘Raonho’ were also successively deployed on the Europe route.

By deploying all eight 16,000 TEU-class vessels on the Europe route by the end of this month, HMM will complete securing a total of 20 ultra-large vessels, including twelve 24,000 TEU-class world’s largest container ships built as part of the government’s 2018 five-year maritime reconstruction plan and acquired last year.

President Bae Jae-hoon said, “By securing competitive vessels, we will establish a foundation for improving mid- to long-term profitability and achieve qualitative growth alongside quantitative growth, continuing a vigorous voyage to leap forward as a global top-class shipping company. I would like to thank the various institutions and stakeholders who have shown great interest and support for HMM’s reconstruction from the order to the delivery of ultra-large vessels.”

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