HMM: Twelve 24,000 TEU boxships make maiden voyages fully laden

All of HMM’s twelve 24,000 TEU containerships have been entirely filled with cargoes on their first voyage, the South Korean shipping major said.

On 30 September, HMM St. Petersburg, the final vessel in the company’s 24K-class series, departed for Europe from the Port of Yantian, China, with 19,529 TEUs loaded on board.

Consequently, all 24,000 TEU ships delivered to HMM have made their maiden voyage with a full load of cargoes, starting with HMM Algeciras which carried a total of 19,621 TEUs last May.

In particular, HMM Algeciras and its two sister ships, HMM Oslo and HMM Copenhagen, embarked on their second journey full of export shipments from Asia to Europe.

Considering the safety of vessel operations and cargo weight, the maximum loadable capacity of each 24,000 TEU ship stands at around 19,300 TEUs on average.

“This is a major milestone for us to expand our presence in the global market in close cooperation with THE Alliance,” Jae-hoon Bae, President & CEO of HMM, commented.

“I am delighted that our efforts and dedication have come to fruition, which gave us a much needed uplift. We will take a big step forward to prove what we are capable of in the years ahead.”

In the second quarter of this year, HMM managed to return to profit, achieving an operating profit of $115 million and a net profit of $23 million, despite high volatility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“HMM will seek to enhance its profitability based on the seamless operation of 24,000 TEU ships, the realignment of service routes, and a string of cost-cutting measures,“ the company said.

Meanwhile, HMM said it has led an effort to stabilise the logistics flow by deploying extra tonnage to the market where a swift delivery of cargo is required and fully operating its entire fleet without idle container vessels in the face of the recent surge in cargo demand.

HMM currently operates over 90 liner services with more than 100 vessels in 110 countries worldwide.