HMM to invest W2.1tr in 12 container ships, pushing this year's total past W6tr

HMM announced Tuesday it will invest 2.1 trillion won ($1.58 billion) in 12 container ships — eight 13,000-TEU vessels and four feeder ships — pushing its total investment for this year past 6 trillion won.

The company signed a contract with HD Hyundai to order the eight 13,000-TEU container ships, all of which will be LNG dual-fuel, low-carbon vessels. Six will be built at HD Hyundai Samho in South Jeolla Province and two at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, with deliveries scheduled to begin sequentially from 2029.

TEU, or twenty-foot equivalent unit, is the standard measure of a container ship's cargo capacity. A 13,000-TEU vessel can carry 13,000 standard 20-foot containers.

LNG fuel can cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 23 percent compared with conventional marine fuel. When paired with exhaust treatment systems, it can also reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by more than 80 percent and SOx emissions by more than 99 percent, making it a low-carbon option for meeting International Maritime Organization environmental regulations.

HMM will also secure four feeder ships — three 2,800-TEU vessels and one 1,700-TEU vessel — through resale contracts, a method that involves taking over existing shipbuilding orders and allows carriers to acquire tonnage ahead of schedule. The 13,000-TEU ships will be deployed on the Far East–India–Mediterranean route to improve operational efficiency on key deep-sea lanes, while the feeder ships will link hub ports to regional networks as part of HMM's hub-and-spoke strategy.

Including this latest commitment, HMM's total investment in fleet expansion, logistics infrastructure and future technology this year reaches 6 trillion won. Since President Choi Won-hyuk took office in March 2025, the company's cumulative investment has reached 12 trillion won.

HMM said the investment is a preemptive move that accounts for the two-to-three-year-plus shipbuilding lead time and global shipping market cycles, aimed at building a competitive fleet ahead of the next industry upturn.

The orders also form part of HMM's "2030 Mid- to Long-Term Strategy," under which the company plans to invest 29 trillion won to expand its container fleet to 166 ships with a capacity of 1.47 million TEU and its bulk fleet to 110 vessels totaling 13.52 million deadweight tons by 2030. On the container side, HMM has been adding feeder ships alongside large vessels to advance its hub-and-spoke strategy. Its feeder fleet — counting vessels in service and on order — has grown 3.5-fold, from 12 ships in March 2025 to 42 this year, and those vessels are being deployed to build feeder networks in high-growth regions including Africa and India.

On the bulk side, HMM has focused on fleet expansion through vessel-type diversification and long-term contracts since the second half of 2025. Its bulk fleet has grown from 44 ships in March 2025 to 60 this year, broadening beyond dry bulk and tankers to include gas carriers, car carriers and multipurpose vessels. Beyond ships, HMM is also investing in global logistics hubs and digital transformation, including an upgrade of cranes at Washington United Terminals in Tacoma.

"Shipping investments in vessels and ports are inherently long-term in nature, unfolding over many years with a forward-looking perspective," an HMM official said. "We will continue to pursue mid- to long-term investment to build the capabilities needed to compete with global carriers."

Meanwhile, HMM held a board meeting Thursday and resolved to convene an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders to seek the reappointment of President Choi Won-hyuk as an inside director.

The extraordinary shareholders' meeting is scheduled for Nov. 25. HMM said Choi will resign from his current position as inside director on the same day before being reappointed at the meeting.