South Korean operator HMM recently held a naming ceremony for a 13,000 TEU newbuild containership, ‘HMM Garnet’, at the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI) headquarters in Ulsan, Korea.
In June 2021, HMM signed a formal contract to build 12 containerships of 13,000 TEU capacity with Hanwha Ocean and HD HHI, each of which are building six vessels. HMM Garnet is the first of these 12 vessels. When the delivery of all 12 ships is completed later in 2024, HMM’s fleet capacity is forecast to reach a total of 1m TEU. In particular, large containerships of more than 10,000 TEU will account for 80% of HMM’s entire fleet, enhancing cost structure and operational efficiency.
HMM expects to enhance its environmental capabilities by adding these 12 13,000 TEU newbuilds. All ships are designed to be LNG-ready, and advanced energy-saving technologies are applied to increase fuel efficiency and reduce pollutant emissions.
The vessels include what is described as ‘the latest smart ship solution’, with which all operational data will be transmitted to HMM’s Fleet Control Centre in real-time to ensure complete visibility over the ships.
Kim Kyung Bae, HHM President and CEO said: “We expect our new ships to give us strong environmental credentials and to provide us with the capacity and flexibility in the face of growing competition in the global market.”
From February 2024, HMM Garnet will be deployed on the East Coast 1(EC1) route under THE Alliance’s product plan, with its port rotation starting at Kaohsiung, Xiamen, Yantian, Shanghai, Ningbo, Busan, Yantian, New York, Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah, and Singapore.
The twelve 13,000TEU vessels will bear the names of birthstones from January to December, on which HMM says “we will make the customer’s cargo as valuable as jewellery.”
Image: Naming of HMM Garnet (source: HMM)
