HMM has confirmed boxship orders covered by Splash last week, as well as revealing it has signed contracts for a pair of VLCC newbuilds.
South Korea’s flagship carrier has tasked HD Hyundai Heavy and Hanhwa Ocean to build a dozen LNG duel-fuelled 13,000 teu vessels while not revealing which yard will build the two VLCCs. Total outlay for the 14 ships comes in at KRW4trn ($2.82bn).
HMM is the world’s eighth largest container carrier, and will shortly join an exclusive millionaire’s club – its fleet poised to break through the 1m teu mark.
Last September, HMM unveiled expansion plans through to the end of the decade, setting aside a massive KRW23.5trn ($17.48bn) that will see its container fleet nearly double while its tanker and dry bulk fleets will triple in size come 2030.
HMM has been repeatedly linked with acquiring local rivals. Not for the first time, local media are linking HMM this week with a bid for Polaris Shipping, the country’s third largest shipping firm by deadweight, best known for its fleet of giant very large ore carriers.
