It remains to be seen whether all of HMM’s twelve new mega-carriers to be delivered this year will be put into operation. Due to the corona crisis, delivery may be postponed for a few weeks or months, says French data agency Alphaliner. 

HMM was planning to add twelve new container ships of about 24,000 TEU each to its fleet this year. The vessels would be phased in before September. However, a revised plan would now show that only six of these mega-carriers will be operational at the end of the third quarter.

The French research bureau still expects the South Korean shipping company to take delivery of the new vessels around the end of the year, but that their entry into service will depend on how quickly volumes between Asia and Europe recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hojoon Lee, of HMM’s Public Relations Office, has refuted the claims about delayed delivery of the ships. He says: ‘Delivery schedules of all 24K-class ships currently remain unchanged. We still plan to keep the schedules on time until September, 2020.’

Record vessel

Last week, the first mega ship in the series of twelve, the HMM Algeciras of 23,964 TEU, was christened in the presence of South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the Daewoo shipyard in Geoje.

The record ship began its maiden trip on Saturday 25 April in Qingdao, China. It is sailing on the FE4 service of THE Alliance between the Far East and Northern Europe. On Wednesday 3 June, the HMM Algeciras is expected to arrive in the port of Rotterdam around noon.

This article first appeared (in Dutch) on Nieuwsblad Transport, a brand of SWZ|Maritime’s publishing partner Promedia.