HJ Shipbuilding & Construction (HJSC) held a simultaneous naming ceremony for two 5,500 TEU containerships at its Yeongdo Shipyard in Busan on the morning of August 30.
At the event, which was attended by more than 100 people, including shipowners and HJSC employees, Yoo Sang-cheol, President of HJ Shipbuilding Division, said, "With the experience and technology of Korea's No. 1 shipyard, we will maximize customer satisfaction in the high-tech and eco-friendly ship market."
The two vessels are 5,500 TEU eco-friendly container carriers ordered by a European shipowner and named "ZIM DANUBE" and "ZIM GANGES" respectively.
The two container ships, which were ordered for the first time in six years for a general merchant vessel after HJSC changed its majority shareholder in August 2021, were christened today after a two-year process since the contract was signed.
At the time, HJSC had announced its re-entry into the market by winning contracts from European shipping lines to build four 5,500 TEU containerships with a total value of $270 million.
Since then, the company has focused on winning orders for merchant vessels with the aim of normalizing its business, and has secured 10 orders for medium and large eco-friendly container ships ranging from 5,500 TEU to 9,000 TEU.
In particular, in February this year, the company signed a contract with HMM to build two 9,000TEU methanol-powered containerships worth a total of KRW 316.7 billion, demonstrating its differentiated competitiveness in the field of next-generation eco-friendly containerships.
Methanol-powered ships emit 25% less carbon emissions and 80% and 99% less nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxide, respectively, than conventional bunker fuel oil C, and are considered the future food of the shipbuilding industry.
In the specialty shipbuilding sector, HJSC also succeeded in winning additional orders for the Navy's high-speed landing craft and garage speed boats, the ROKS Dokdo performance improvement project, and the Coast Guard's 3,000-ton patrol vessel.
