HMM said it held a board meeting on the 15th and approved new facility investments to order newbuild container ships and purchase secondhand vessels. The investment totals 2.1678 trillion won, equal to 8.16% of shareholders' equity, or $1.61716 billion.
Through the investment, HMM will place new orders for eight 13,000-TEU container ships (one TEU equals one 20-foot container) and buy four secondhand container ships, including three 2,800-TEU vessels and one 1,700-TEU vessel. The 12 ships have combined capacity of 114,100 TEU. The plan is to expand the fleet and improve operating competitiveness by securing newbuilds and secondhand vessels together.
The investment period runs from the 15th through Dec. 31, 2029. The end date is based on the expected final delivery of the vessels, and the actual investment amount and timeline could change depending on revisions to ship specifications and delivery schedules.
HMM began operations on the 12th at a temporary headquarters in Bujeon-dong, Busanjin-gu, Busan. On the 13th, President Lee Jae-myung attended the unveiling ceremony at the Busan headquarters with HMM President Choi Won-hyuk and officials from the government and the Busan city government, pulling back the cover on an HMM symbolic sculpture moved from the Seoul building and encouraging employees.
Choi said that day, "We will work to become a 'global top-tier' shipping company through aggressive investment based on our mid- to long-term strategy for 2030."
The temporary building houses office space including the chief executive's office, with 120 people working there, including about 90 existing Busan sales division employees. HMM plans to assign additional staff to Busan through an internal application process for Seoul-based employees.