Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority Attracts HMM 13,000 TEU-Class North America Vessel to Gwangyang Port

Expansion of Overseas Shipping Capacity at Gwangyang Port

Expected Increase of 20,000 TEU in Cargo Volume

Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority (President Park Seong-hyun, hereinafter referred to as the Authority) announced that starting with the arrival of the new HMM North America service vessel (HMM EMERALD) at Gwangyang Port on the 1st, it has attracted three 13,000 TEU-class up-sized vessels regularly deployed to North America.

The PSX service currently operates seven 10,000 TEU-class container ships on the route Shanghai-Gwangyang-Busan-Los Angeles-Auckland-Busan-Gwangyang-Incheon-Shanghai. From June, the deployed vessels will be newly arranged with four 10,000 TEU-class ships and three 13,000 TEU-class ships, significantly increasing the vessel capacity at Gwangyang Port.

[Photo by Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority]

The attraction of ultra-large vessels is the result of the Authority’s comprehensive efforts to resolve the shortage of vessel capacity on deep-sea routes, which had been a challenge for cargo owners near the Gwangyang Bay area, and is expected to greatly aid in cargo attraction.

To increase the number of scheduled sailings and vessel capacity on deep-sea routes at Gwangyang Port, the Authority has been strengthening sales activities on all fronts, starting with a customer appreciation briefing for port users such as shipping companies and forwarders last year, holding a Gwangyang Port Box Club meeting in February this year, executive-level port sales targeting alliance carriers including MSC, the world’s number one shipping company, in April, and CEO port sales in Shanghai, China, in May.

Through the up-sizing of the HMM North America service (PSX), the vessel capacity of the HMM North America service operated at Gwangyang Port is expected to increase annually by about 20,000 TEU, from approximately 100,000 TEU to about 120,000 TEU.

President Park Seong-hyun of the Authority stated, “This up-sizing of the North America service will greatly contribute to resolving the difficulties faced by customers using Yeosu Gwangyang Port, and we will continue to strive to provide more convenient and diverse services to customers using Yeosu Gwangyang Port.”

He also said, “To prepare positive measures for revitalizing and developing the regional economy, we will continuously strengthen cooperation with major alliance carriers such as HMM to contribute to regional economic development.”

Meanwhile, the newly attracted 13,000 TEU-class ultra-large vessel arrived at the Korea International Terminal in Gwangyang Port at 02:00 on the 1st.

Accordingly, the Authority held a ceremony on the 1st to commemorate the attraction of the up-sized North America service vessels with Korea International Terminal (KIT) and HMM officials.

In the future, in the second half of the year, the Authority plans to invite HMM executives to Gwangyang Port together with Korea International Terminal (KIT) to continuously discuss the stabilization of the service and the attraction of new North America services to Gwangyang Port.

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