HMM plans to expand its fleet to support a hub-and-spoke shipping model. The board of directors of the South Korean shipping company has approved a budget of $19.7 billion to increase its container fleet to 166 vessels (1.55 million TEU) and its bulk carrier fleet to 110 vessels (13.52 million DWT) by 2030. This surpasses the previously set mid-term plan, which aimed for a container fleet of 130 vessels (1.47 million TEU) and a bulk fleet of 12.56 million DWT by the same deadline.

On the same day, it was announced that HMM’s U.S. subsidiary, Washington United Terminals (WUT), which operates terminals at the Port of Tacoma (Washington State), has ordered four new cranes from HD Hyundai Samho. The Tacoma terminal, opened in 1999, currently has eight quay cranes and six yard cranes. The new equipment will replace two outdated quay cranes and add two yard cranes, enabling the terminal to handle larger container ships and increase its annual capacity from 590,000 TEU to 880,000 TEU.

The company aims to strengthen its position in both ocean and coastal container shipping by utilizing the hub-and-spoke system, where large vessels serve long-haul routes and smaller and medium-sized ships provide feeder services. The carrier also plans to regain market share in intra-Asia shipping.

As of June, HMM’s fleet consists of 96 container ships with a total capacity of 1.02 million TEU and 61 bulk carriers with a combined capacity of 7.86 million DWT. In October last year, the company ordered 12 container ships, each with a capacity of 13,000 TEU and dual-fuel (LNG) engines, from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean.