17 April 2024 (Lloyd's List) - SOUTH Korea’s largest container shipping line HMM has revealed its fleet expansion plan, aligning with the country’s ambition to become a shipping powerhouse. 

As part of its mid-to-long-term strategy, HMM has pledged to increase its containership fleet capacity to 1.5m teu from the current 920,000 teu by 2030, the company told Lloyd’s List. 

HMM stated that the fleet expansion aims to prepare for the restructuring of global shipping alliances and enhance the competitiveness of its core business.

HMM is a member of The Alliance, which faces the looming departure of another partner in the group, Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd.

The exit of Hapag-Lloyd will leave Ocean Network Express, Yang Ming, and HMM in a potentially vulnerable position, as they may face challenges in finding a network that can rival the extensive reach of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, Gemini, or the Ocean Alliance.

Last month, ONE also announced plans to scale up its carrying capacity to 3m teu by 2030. 

The South Korean carrier also intends to broaden its bulk business by increasing its fleet size to 110 vessels, with a total capacity of 12.3m dwt from the current 36 vessels, which has a combined capacity of 6.3m dwt.

The expansion plan is in line with the country’s shipping strategy of being a leading industry player.

Earlier this month, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to boost the country’s containership capacity to 2m teu by 2030 and to increase the proportion of green vessels to 60%. 

HMM said more details of its mid to long-term strategy will be released in the first half of this year.

Local media also reported that the carrier aims to acquire more terminals, while also looking to bring forward its decarbonisation target from 2050 to 2045.