South Korea’s HMM one of the world’s top ocean carriers took delivery of the HMM Garnet, the first in a series of twelve 13,000 TEU containerships.
The ship, which is designed to be LNG-ready with advanced energy-saving technologies, was unveiled at a naming ceremony held at the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries headquarters in Ulsan, Korea.
The company signed a formal contract in June 2021 with Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries to build six vessels each.
HMM said that one remarkable feature of the twelve newly launched 13,000 TEU containerships is “the latest smart ship solution.”
All operational data will be transmitted to HMM’s Fleet Control Center in real-time to ensure complete visibility over the ships.
Kim, Kyung Bae, president and chief executive of HMM, said: “We expect our new ships to give us strong environmental credentials and to provide us with the capacity and flexibility in the face of growing competition in the global market.”
From this February, HMM Garnet will be deployed on the East Coast 1(EC1) route under THE Alliance’s product plan, with its port rotation starting at Kaohsiung, Xiamen, Yantian, Shanghai, Ningbo, Busan, Yantian, New York, Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah, and Singapore.
When the delivery of twelve 13,000 TEU ships is completed this year, HMM’s fleet capacity is forecast to reach a total of 1 million TEUs.
Large containerships of more than 10,000 TEU will account for 80% of HMM’s entire fleet, enhancing cost structure and operational efficiency.
Meanwhile, the twelve 13,000 TEU vessels will bear the names of birthstones from January to December, meaning that “we will make the customer’s cargo as valuable as jewellery.”
