HMM Strategic Expansion, Adding 36 Container Ships!

South Korea's largest liner company HMM has once again raised its medium- to long-term fleet expansion targets.

On July 24, HMM's Board of Directors approved the "2026 Medium- and Long-Term Strategy." According to the latest plan, HMM will invest about 29 trillion KRW between 2026 and 2030, expanding its fleet to 276 ships by 2030. Among them, the container fleet will reach 166 vessels, with a total capacity of about 1.47 million TEU; The bulk carrier fleet will reach 110 vessels, with a total capacity of about 13.52 million deadweight tons.

According to HMM's disclosures, this strategy covers multiple aspects, including fleet expansion, route networks, long-term cargo sources, overseas terminals, and green transformation. In container business, the company will base its approach on the "hub-feeder route" model, while strengthening ocean trunk routes and regional short-haul routes; Bulk cargo business will expand scale and improve profit stability through long-term transportation contracts; The port business plans to acquire terminal and related infrastructure resources at major overseas growth hubs.

HMM will also continue to invest in alternative fuel vessels, energy-saving technologies, and digital operational systems to drive the company to achieve net zero emissions by 2045. By strengthening competitiveness in container shipping, bulk cargo transport, and port infrastructure businesses, the company aims to build a more stable business portfolio and achieve sustainable growth and enhanced corporate value through green and digital transformation.

HMM's previously announced mid- to long-term strategy in 2024 proposed investing 23.5 trillion KRW by 2030 to expand its container fleet to 130 ships and reach a total capacity of 1.55 million TEU; The bulk carrier fleet expanded to 110 vessels, with a total capacity of 12.56 million deadweight tons. According to this plan, HMM's fleet will reach 240 ships by 2030.

In the latest strategy announced on July 24, HMM further raised its fleet target by 2030 to 276 vessels. Among them, the number of container ships increased from 130 in the previous plan to 166, an increase of 36 ships.

Notably, while the number of container ships increased, the target total capacity was lowered from 1.55 million TEU to 1.47 million TEU, a decrease of 80,000 TEU. This indicates that HMM is adjusting the hull structure of its future fleet, with the proportion of small and medium-sized container ships in the fleet significantly increasing.

The bulk carrier fleet is showing different directions of change. Although the number of ships will remain at 110 by 2030, the total capacity target will be raised from 12.56 million deadweight tons to 13.52 million deadweight tons, an increase of 960,000 deadweight tons. By target size, the average tonnage per vessel increased from about 114,000 deadweight tons to about 123,000 deadweight tons, indicating that HMM will continue to add larger vessels in its bulk cargo business and provide source support for new capacity through long-term transport contracts.

As of June 2026, HMM owns 96 container ships with a total capacity of approximately 1.02 million TEU; It also owns 61 bulk carriers, with a total capacity of about 7.86 million deadweight tons.

Based on this fleet size, to reach the targets of 166 container ships and 110 bulk carriers by 2030, HMM will need to add about 70 and 49 ships respectively in the coming years, expanding the total fleet from the current 157 to 276 ships.

This strategic adjustment is highly consistent with HMM's ongoing "hub—feedline" network layout.

The Premier Alliance, formed by HMM, ONE, and Yang Ming Marine Transport, officially began operations in February 2025, with a five-year cooperation period. On the alliance's jointly operated east-west ocean routes, HMM continues to invest in ultra-large container ships; In regional markets, HMM needs more small and medium-sized vessels to connect to secondary ports, concentrating cargo at major hubs before transferring to ocean-going routes.

Feeder boat expansion has already begun. HMM previously disclosed that within about half a year, it had secured 24 feeder container ships, including 10 2,800 TEU ships ordered from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, 2 1,900 TEU ships purchased from the market, and 12 container ships of about 1,800 to 3,000 TEU built by China Yellow Sea Shipyard. The related newbuilds are expected to be delivered mainly between 2028 and 2029.

In July 2026, HMM also partnered with ONE to launch the MA2 route connecting the Mediterranean and West Africa. This route is equipped with five 2,800 TEU container ships, calling at ports such as Algeciras, Tangier, Dakar, Tema, Leki, and Abidjan. The expansion of the regional feeder network will help HMM cover more West African cargo sources and improve the efficiency of connections between Mediterranean hubs and ocean routes.

While supplementing regional capacity, HMM continues to invest in large vessels on major ocean routes.

In October 2025, HMM ordered 12 13,000 TEU-class LNG dual-fuel container ships from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Marine Insurance, with deliveries planned sequentially between 2028 and 2029. According to HMM's announced new shipbuilding plan, the project also includes two ultra-large oil tankers, with a total contract value of about 4 trillion KRW.

This batch of 13,000 TEU vessels will undertake main route and some north-south route transport tasks, forming a layered configuration with HMM's existing 24,000 TEU ultra-large container ships and newly added feeder vessels.

HMM's future container fleet will mainly consist of three tiers: ultra-large vessels serving the east-west core ocean-going trunk routes, 13,000 TEU class vessels handling main and north-south routes, and small and medium-sized vessels handling regional feeder routes, secondary ports, and hub connections.

The criteria for measuring fleet competitiveness will also extend from merely TEU scale to include port coverage, regional cargo source control, transshipment efficiency, and main route load factors.

HMM's announced total investment is approximately 29 trillion KRW (approximately 19.7 billion USD), an increase of 5.5 trillion KRW compared to the 23.5 trillion KRW planned for 2024.

By the end of 2025, HMM had executed approximately 2.7 trillion KRW in investments from the previous strategy, with the remaining planned investment amounting to about 20.8 trillion KRW. Based on this scale, the new five-year investment will increase by about 8.2 trillion KRW compared to the unexecuted portion of the previous strategy.

The related funds will mainly be invested in fleet expansion, overseas terminal and port infrastructure, green vessels, digital operations, and integrated logistics capacity building.

In the bulk cargo business, HMM proposes to achieve stable growth and improve profitability based on long-term transportation contracts. Long-term contracts can secure the basic cargo sources and cash flow for new vessels, reducing the impact of spot market fluctuations on operating performance.

In 2025, HMM will sign two long-term transportation contracts with Brazilian mining giant Vale, each lasting 10 years, totaling over 1 trillion KRW, planning to deploy five ships to transport iron ore from Brazil to South Korea. In June 2026, the company confirmed the construction of two large liquefied petroleum gas carriers and signed a seven-year charter agreement with Mercuria's subsidiaries, with a contract value of approximately 311.8 billion KRW. The related project is expected to begin execution in 2029.

Expanding bulk, tanker, and gas carrier businesses helps reduce HMM's reliance on container market cycles. In 2025, container shipping will still contribute about 85% of HMM's operating revenue, and changes in freight rates will have a significant impact on the company's overall profitability. By 2030, the bulk carrier fleet will be expanded to 13.52 million deadweight tons, reflecting HMM's emphasis on business structure balance and long-term cash flow stability.

Port infrastructure is another key focus in this strategy. HMM plans to acquire terminal and related infrastructure resources at major overseas growth hubs, improving schedule stability, transshipment efficiency, and regional consolidation capacity by controlling key port nodes, while strengthening the connection between ships, terminals, warehousing, and inland transportation.

This arrangement echoes the "Move Beyond Maritime" strategic direction proposed at HMM's 50th anniversary. The company aims to gradually evolve from a traditional ocean carrier into an integrated logistics operator covering ocean freight, ports, warehousing, inland transport, and supply chain services.

Green and digital investments will also continue to advance. HMM maintains its goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2045 and plans to add alternative fuel vessels such as LNG and methanol, while advancing energy-saving retrofits of existing vessels, smart route planning, and digital ship-to-shore operations.

HMM currently ranks about eighth in global container capacity, with a significant scale gap compared to leading liner companies. The latest strategy invests funds in small and medium-sized fleets, regional networks, long-term cargo sources, and overseas port nodes, indicating that its competitive direction is expanding from a single capacity scale to network coverage and business mix.

The increase from 130 to 166 new container ships represents an adjustment in HMM's vessel structure and route organization. In the coming years, HMM will simultaneously supplement large mainline vessels and small to medium-sized feeder vessels, supporting fleet expansion with long-term cargo sources, overseas terminals, and digital operational systems.

Whether new ships can be delivered on schedule, whether the feeder network can generate economies of scale, whether overseas terminal investments can materialize, and whether long-term bulk cargo contracts can continue to increase will determine how much commercial value this 29 trillion won expansion plan can ultimately generate.

Source：Xinde Marine News