South Korean container line HMM has approved a US$1.6 billion investment in 12 containerships, comprising eight 13,000TEU newbuildings and four smaller vessels.
HMM's board approved the investment on Thursday, October 15. The 12 vessels will add a combined 114,100 TEUs of capacity to the company’s fleet.
Alongside the eight newbuilding orders, HMM will acquire three 2,800TEU vessels and one 1,700TEU vessel as resale newbuildings. These are ships originally ordered by another owner and transferred before delivery.
HMM said in a regulatory disclosure that the total vessel price is US$1,617,156,000. The amount represents 8.16 per cent of the company's consolidated equity at the end of the most recent financial year.
The company said the figure may change depending on detailed vessel specifications.
The investment period runs until December 31, 2029, reflecting expected final vessel deliveries in December 2029, though HMM said this could shift with the delivery schedule.
HMM operated 97 containerships with a combined capacity of approximately 1.02 million TEUs in the first half of 2026. A revised strategy approved by its board on July 24 targets 166 containerships and 1.47 million TEUs by the end of 2030, as part of a KRW29 trillion (US$22 billion) investment programme.
The revised plan is built around a hub-and-spoke network, with large ships on ocean-going routes supported by smaller and medium-sized vessels connecting origins and destinations through the hubs. It replaced a 2024 strategy that had targeted 130 containerships with 1.55 million TEUs by 2030.
