HJ Heavy Industries Signs 353.2 Billion Won Contract with European Shipowner for 10,000 TEU-Class Container Ships

Birth of the First 10,000 TEU-Class Container Ship
at the 90-Year-Old Yeongdo Shipyard
From Mid-Size to Large... Proving Competitiveness in Container Ships

HJ Heavy Industries announced that it has signed a shipbuilding contract with a European shipowner for two eco-friendly 10,100 TEU-class container ships (with an additional two ships as options), with a total value of 353.2 billion won. This contract marks the first time that large container ships exceeding 10,000 TEU will be built at the Yeongdo Shipyard of HJ Heavy Industries.

A container ship of the same class built by HJ Heavy Industries. Provided by HJ Heavy Industries.

The vessels ordered this time are 10,100 TEU-class eco-friendly container ships that minimize greenhouse gas emissions by applying the latest hull form and high-efficiency fuel-saving design. To comply with environmental regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), they will be equipped with desulfurization scrubbers, and a high-efficiency hull design that enables optimal operation will be applied.

In particular, this order is highly significant in that it will be the first time that large container ships of over 10,000 TEU are built at the Busan Yeongdo Shipyard, the main shipbuilding base of HJ Heavy Industries, which has a 90-year history.

In 2004, HJ Heavy Industries developed the so-called Dam (DAM) Method when it built a 325-meter-class hull exceeding 300 meters in dock length at the Yeongdo Shipyard to overcome dock length limitations. This method, which drew attention in the shipbuilding industry at the time, involves installing a cofferdam structure and then welding and connecting the hull sections underwater.

Through continuous technological development, the company subsequently succeeded last year in building and delivering a 9,000 TEU-class methanol container ship without using the Dam Method, and it has once again demonstrated its technological competitiveness by winning the order for 10,000 TEU-class container ships from a European shipowner. This contract is also a repeat order from a shipowner that had previously placed container ship orders with HJ Heavy Industries and was satisfied with the quality.

In recent years, HJ Heavy Industries has focused on developing mid-size eco-friendly container ships, strengthening its competitiveness in the container ship segment. Starting with the 5,500 TEU-class container ship in 2021, which signaled the resumption of commercial ship orders, up to the recently built 9,000 TEU-class methanol container ships for HMM, all of these vessels have applied hull forms optimized for the Yeongdo Shipyard dock.

Yoo Sangchul, CEO of HJ Heavy Industries, said, "Based on our technological capabilities, which have overcome physical limitations through the development of innovative construction methods, we have finally become able to build large container ships of over 10,000 TEU at the Yeongdo Shipyard," adding, "We will perfectly deliver high-quality vessels within the delivery schedule to repay the trust of our shipowners and further enhance our reputation in the field of medium- and large-sized eco-friendly container ships."

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