SIMIC

SOUTH KOREA's HMM plans to reach net-zero carbon emissions across its fleet by 2050 with help of methanol marine fuel, reports New York's Journal of Commerce.
Cash-rich HMM, formerly Hyundai Merchant Marine, will spend US$1.12 billion for nine dual-fuel methanol ships while locking in supply of the fuel in preparation for delivery of the vessels in 2025 and 2026, the carrier said.
Fresh off a hugely profitable 2022, HMM inked new construction contracts with South Korean yards Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries and HJ Shipbuilding and Construction for the 9,000 TEU ships. The vessels will be deployed on trade lanes from Asia to North America and Latin America and on Asia-India routes.
"We will continue to drive efforts to support the global community's broader transition to carbon neutrality while at the same time strengthening our fundamental level of future capability in the face of increasingly fierce competition in the global market," HMM president and CEO Kim Kyung-bae said in a statement.
To ensure it has enough methanol to power the new vessels, HMM also announced it had signed deals with five fuel suppliers, including Proman, PTTEP, European Energy and Hyundai Corporation.
The carrier will conduct a feasibility study with each partner procuring various types of methanol in its main bunkering ports.