[300420.EN.SEA] World's 1st 24,000 TEU to Sail on THE Alliances' Asia-Europe Service Under HMM

HMM is to launch the world's first 24,000 TEU containership, the HMM Algeciras - one of twelve 24,000 TEU box ships that the carrier currently has on order from two shipyards in South Korea, DSME and SHI.

Having become a member of THE Alliance on April 1, the South Korean box ship operator officially dropped its former name Hyundai Merchant Marine, Co in favour of HMM, Co.

President Bae Jae Hoon said the goal is to "expand its presence in the global shipping industry based on optimised fleet management and new cooperation with THE Alliance", reported gcaptain.

The ship was officially named during a private ceremony at the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in South Korea.

The HMM Algeciras measures 399.9 metres in length and has a beam of 61 metres. With a nominal TEU capacity of 23,964, the vessel was ordered in September 2018 as part of an order for 20 mega ships split among South Korea's 'Big 3' shipyards - DSME, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI).

HMM Algeciras is the first of seven being constructed by DSME for HMM, while SHI is building the other five. All twelve are scheduled to be delivered this year.

HHI is constructing eight ships of 16,000 TEU to be delivered in the second quarter of 2021.

HMM Algeciras will be deployed on THE Alliances's Far East Europe 4 (FE4) service with a port rotation of: Qingdao, Busan, Ningbo, Shanghai, Yantian, Suez Canal, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp and London, followed by Singapore via the Suez Canal.

"It is very meaningful that HMM takes delivery of the most technologically-advanced container in this difficult time. I would like to celebrate it and hope that HMM continues to secure a competitive advantage as a Korean national flagship carrier," said South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Source : HKSG.