HMM, Cumulative Transport Volume of 20 Ultra-Large Ships... "Achieves 3 Million TEU"

Out of 92 voyages based on the headhaul, 88 voyages fully loaded... 'A Great Record'

Photo by HMM

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] HMM announced on the 22nd that the cumulative transportation volume of its 20 ultra-large vessels, including twelve 24,000 TEU (1 TEU = one 20-foot container) class container ships and eight 16,000 TEU class container ships, has exceeded a total of 3 million TEU.

Among the twelve 24,000 TEU class vessels, the 7th ship, 'HMM Hamburg,' departed fully loaded from Yantian Port in China, achieving a cumulative transportation volume of 3,011,054 TEU to date.

First, regarding the twelve 24,000 TEU class container ships, starting with the 1st ship 'HMM Algeciras,' which was deployed on the Europe route in April 2020, a total of 68 headhaul voyages?referring to export cargo from Asia to the US or Europe?have been operated so far. The cumulative transportation volume reached 1,327,381 TEU. Notably, out of these 68 voyages, 65 departed fully loaded, setting a remarkable record. The average loading rate was 101.1%.

For the backhaul, 30 out of 59 voyages were fully loaded. The cumulative transportation volume was 1,119,048 TEU, with an average loading rate of 98.3%.

Additionally, for the eight 16,000 TEU class container ships, starting with the 1st ship 'HMM Nuri,' which was deployed on the Europe route in March last year, a total of 24 headhaul voyages have been operated so far, recording a cumulative transportation volume of 323,458 TEU. Especially, 23 out of these 24 voyages departed fully loaded. The average loading rate was 101.3%.

For the backhaul, 13 out of 18 voyages were fully loaded. The cumulative transportation volume was 241,167 TEU, with an average loading rate of 100.7%.

Thus, among the 20 ultra-large vessels, out of a total of 169 voyages, 131 voyages?including headhaul and backhaul cargo loaded when returning from Europe or the US?departed fully loaded. The cumulative transportation volume reached 3,011,054 TEU. In particular, for headhaul voyages, 88 out of 92 voyages departed fully loaded, transporting the maximum volume in the shortest period.

HMM established a foundation for a new leap forward by newly building a total of 20 ultra-large vessels, including twelve 24,000 TEU class world’s largest container ships and eight 16,000 TEU class container ships, in 2018 with the aim of strengthening the competitiveness of the shipping industry and rebuilding shipping under the government’s initiative.

HMM deployed these vessels on the core Europe route. Based on this, it has regained market trust by competing on equal footing with global shipping companies not only on the previously strong America route but also on the Europe route, leading the rebuilding of Korea’s shipping industry.

With the completion of the deployment of ultra-large vessels in the first half of last year, HMM’s fleet capacity expanded more than twofold from 400,000 TEU in 2016 to the current 820,000 TEU. The proportion of ultra-large vessels, which indicates the competitiveness of the shipping company, is about 50%, the highest level among global shipping companies. Furthermore, if all twelve 13,000 TEU class ultra-large container ships additionally ordered in June last year are delivered by the first half of 2024, the fleet capacity is expected to expand to 1 million TEU.

An HMM official said, “Such achievements were possible thanks to the active support of the government and stakeholders and the efforts of our employees,” adding, “We will continue to develop into a company that contributes to the national economy through strengthening competitiveness in the global market and sustainable growth.”

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