On July 30th, HMM Pearl, a 13,000 TEU liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel containership built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for the South Korean shipowner Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), was officially delivered and is about to start its maiden voyage.
“HMM Pearl” is the sixth unit in a batch order of 12 13,000 TEU containerships ordered by HHI in June 2021, with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (formerly Hyundai Heavy Industries) and Hanwha Ocean (formerly Daewoo) building six units each, for a total order value of $1.57 billion.
The 12 new buildings are named after birthstones from January to December. “HMM Garnet”, the first unit of the 13,000 TEU containership series built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, will be delivered in January 2024, and Hanwha Ocean has also successfully delivered the same containership “HMM Ruby”, in the near future.
The 335-meter long and 51-meter wide containership is designed to run on LNG fuel, incorporates advanced energy-saving technologies to improve fuel efficiency and reduce pollutant emissions, and will feature the latest smart ship solutions. After completion, all the operation data of the containerships will be transmitted in real time to HMM’s fleet control center to ensure a comprehensive view of the ships.
With the delivery of 12 13,000 TEU containerships this year, HMM’s fleet is expected to reach a total capacity of 1 million TEU, with large containerships of 10,000 TEU or more accounting for 80% of the fleet, helping to improve the cost structure and enhance operational efficiency. The company said that it expects the delivery of the new shipbuildings to enhance the environmental friendliness of its fleet and provide the company with capacity and flexibility in an increasingly competitive global market.
In April of this year, it was announced that HMM will further expand its fleet, with plans to build 46 new containerships and 74 new bulk carriers and other ships, totaling 120 newbuildings, by 2030. HMM’s largest shareholder, the South Korean government, plans to use nearly KRW 11 trillion (RMB 5.72 billion) in retained earnings for the newbuilding investment program.
According to the medium and long-term strategy formulated by HMM, by 2030, it plans to increase the size of its container fleet from 84 ships and 920,000 TEU to 130 ships and 1.5 million TEU; in the bulk carrier sector, it plans to expand its fleet size from 36 units and 6.3 million DWT to 110 units and 12.28 million DWT.
