Final LNG-ready 13K TEU boxship joins HMM’s fleet

South Korean shipping company HMM has taken delivery of HMM Turquoise, completing its twelve-strong fleet of LNG-ready 13,000 TEU containerships.

The company revealed the delivery on November 27, 2024, noting that HMM Turquoise was ready to set sail on the Pacific South Express (PSX) route.

The vessel with an LNG-ready structure for potential conversion to LNG propulsion was built by South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean.

HMM Turquoise is the final piece in a series of twelve LNG-ready 13,000 TEU containerships ordered by HMM at Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2021.

Under the contract, each shipbuilder was appointed to construct six vessels with advanced energy-saving technologies that are expected to increase fuel efficiency and reduce pollutant emissions.

The first unit from this series, HMM Garnet, was built and delivered by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in January 2024.

Now that the delivery of these vessels is completed, HMM’s fleet capacity is forecast to reach a total of 1 million TEUs. In particular, large containerships of more than 10,000 TEU will account for 80% of the shipowner’s entire fleet, enhancing cost structure and operational efficiency.

Just recently, the shipping company also received two newbuild LNG-powered 7,700 TEU containerships chartered from Greek shipowner Navios.

Furthermore, HMM plans to invest KRW 23.5 trillion ($17.48 billion) in sustainable growth by 2030. To meet the market’s demand for eco-friendly transportation, the company aims to acquire around 70 green vessels by 2030 and establish a carbon-neutral ecosystem across all transportation segments by 2045.