HMM is bringing forward the delivery of its eight 16,000TEU ships in order to accede to the South Korean government’s request to continue providing extra capacity on the Asia-North Europe lane, for South Korean shippers.
[s2If is_user_logged_in()]Originally, delivery of the ships, which are being built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), was to start in April and would be completed by end of June. Now, two of the ships will be delivered in March, with the rest to hit the water by end of June.
The ships are HMM Gaon, HMM Garam, HMM Nuri, HMM Hanbada, HMM Mir, HMM Raon, HMM Daon and HMM Hanul.
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) of South Korea said on 18 February that HMM has discussed with HHI and its partners in THE Alliance, regarding the early delivery and deployment of the newbuildings.
HMM began offering “extra loader” Asia-North Europe services at the end of January, having started similar services for Transpacific lane in August 2020.
MOF added that HMM and South Korea’s other long-haul liner operator, SM Line, will introduce a total of three additional ships to the Transpacific lane from late February. The ministry stated that HMM will also deploy one extra vessel to its Southeast Asia service.
MOF said that it will continue monitoring market conditions and shipping demand and advise the liner operators as to whether more additional vessels should be deployed.
There is also a shortage of containers and through an arrangement with the state-backed ship finance institution, Korea Ocean Business Corporation (KOBC), HMM is expected to receive 43,000 boxes every month after mid-March, in line with the early delivery of the 16,000TEU ships.
Anticipating healthy demand into 2021, KOBC will arrange for orders for 17,000 40-foot containers in the second half of the year.
MOF’s shipping policy division director, Jeon Jae-Woo, noted, “We plan to continue providing support, such as getting local shipping companies to execute the temporary deployment of extra ships.”
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Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
