South Korean intra-Asia carrier Korea Marine Transport Company (KMTC Line) has ordered the largest ships in its 70-year history.
KMTC Line’s representative confirmed to Container News that it is behind orders for two 8,700 TEU ships at HD Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries. The LNG dual-fuelled and methanol-ready newbuildings, scheduled for delivery in early 2027, cost US$115 million each, representing a 10% jump from two years ago.
It is the company’s first newbuilding orders since KMTC Line took delivery of a 2,500 TEU pair, KMTC Seoul and KMTC Dalian, from HD Hyundai Mipo in 2020.
Currently, the largest ships in KMTC Line’s fleet are the 6,500 TEU KMTC Mundra, KMTC Colombo and KMTC Delhi, all built in 2020-2021.
KMTC Line’s representative said the newbuildings would serve either its Far East-Middle East or Far East-Indian Subcontinent services. The company sees growth in these lanes and wants to increase its capacity in these areas.
A KMTC Line representative said: “Bigger ships are needed because demand in the Middle East and India is growing, so we proceeded with the newbuilding orders.”
In July, KMTC Line joined X-Press Feeders’ India-Red Sea Express 2 service connecting India with the Red Sea, as a co-loader.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
