HMM's West Coast terminal WUT signs crane supply deal with HD Hyundai Samho

Washington United Terminals, the West Coast terminal operated by HMM, said Sunday it has signed a contract with HD Hyundai Samho to supply four cranes.

WUT, which opened in 1999, is located at the Port of Tacoma in Washington state and sits on a roughly 510,000-square-meter site with 793 meters of berth. The terminal features an on-dock rail system capable of accommodating 26 rail cars simultaneously, giving it strong inland logistics connectivity that complements HMM's trans-Pacific West Coast services.

WUT currently operates eight ship-to-shore cranes — which load and unload containers between vessels and the dock — and six yard cranes, which move containers between the terminal yard and vehicles. Under the new supply contract, two aging ship-to-shore cranes will be replaced with new equipment and two additional yard cranes will be added. The upgrades are intended to expand the terminal's capacity to handle larger container vessels and increase annual throughput from 590,000 TEUs to 880,000 TEUs (one TEU equals one 20-foot container), strengthening the terminal's overall competitiveness.

HD Hyundai Samho will handle the entire process on a turnkey basis — from design and manufacturing through transport, installation and commissioning — with completion scheduled by 2028.

HMM has been making sustained investments in port infrastructure to improve the stability of global logistics supply chains and strengthen its network competitiveness.

Last year, the company signed an MOU with India's Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority on development cooperation for Vadhvan Port, and expansion work is also under way at TTIA, its terminal at the Port of Algeciras in Spain, a key European hub.

"Through this modernization of WUT's equipment, we will provide efficient port logistics services to shippers around the world," an HMM official said. "We will consistently invest to enhance the competitiveness of our port infrastructure alongside our fleet expansion."

Meanwhile, HMM recently disclosed its "2026 mid- to long-term strategy," announcing plans to invest about 29 trillion won ($19.7 billion) over five years through 2030 to expand its combined container and bulk fleet to 276 vessels. The company aims to strengthen its deep-sea and short-sea route networks and secure terminal infrastructure at key overseas hubs, boosting its competitiveness as an integrated shipping and logistics company.