The South Korean shipbuilding giant Hd Hyundai has won a contract worth 2.13 trillion won (1.5 billion dollars) to build eight dual-fuel container ships for the South Korean shipping company Hyundai Merchant Marine (Hmm), marking the largest container ship order in 18 years since the 2007 shipbuilding super cycle.
Hd Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the intermediate holding company of Hd Hyundai specialized in shipbuilding, confirmed an agreement for eight 13,400 TEU ships. The ships will be 337 meters long, 51 meters wide, and 27.9 meters high, equipped with LNG dual-fuel propulsion engines and fuel tanks approximately 50% larger than standard models to improve their operational efficiency.
Hd Hyundai Heavy Industries will build two of the ships, while Hd Hyundai Samho will build the remaining six, with sequential deliveries scheduled by the first half of 2029.
With this order, Hd Hyundai brings its container ship order portfolio to the highest level since 2007, when cargo volume peaked at 793,473 TEU during the global economic boom. With 69 container ships for a total of 720,000 TEU ordered this year, the shipbuilder has secured more orders than any other domestic shipbuilder.
Hd Hyundai’s competitive advantage goes beyond construction costs and has to do with the entire ship lifecycle. Since 2023, Hd Hyundai has equipped its ships with Hinas Control, an autonomous navigation assistance system developed by Avicus that has been shown to reduce carbon emissions by 15% and increase fuel efficiency by 15%.
“We are further consolidating our position in the global market thanks to differentiated technologies and customer trust,” stated an Hd Hyundai executive. “We will continue to lead the decarbonization of the shipbuilding and shipping industry with our technological competitiveness focused on eco-friendly and high-efficiency ships.”
