Hyundai Merchant Marine is ordering 22,000-TEU vessels. That news was broken at a sales strategy meeting earlier this month by HMM President and CEO C.K. Yoo.

The meeting held December 18-22, and included 150 people including and 50 HMM representatives from the United States, the European Union, and elsewhere in Asia.

Commented on the new shipbuilding plan, Yoo said, “This will be the megaship building project in accordance with the national expectation for being a leading shipping nation. HMM is now located in the good position to be a world-class leading shipping company by overcoming new environmental regulations starting from 2020.”

Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), currently the world’s 15th-largest container carrier has experienced financial troubles for the last number of years but, unlike its South Korean counterpart Hanjin Shipping, has managed to stay afloat with the help from the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB).

Referencing those circumstances, Yoo expressed “gratitude to people of Korea for supporting HMM and to all HMM employees who overcame difficult situations.” You also mentioned that HMM has been challenged to regain customer trust and recover profitability.

In the meeting, HMM focused on finding ways of strengthening manpower through professional education, and achieving innovative growth through blockchain technology. Last August and September HMM conducted its first pilot voyage from Korea to China with reefer containers, applying blockchain technology from shipment booking to cargo delivery.

The sales meeting also discussed securing profitability based on the company’s network of overseas terminals on the US West Coast, and in Pusan, Kaohsiung, Algeciras, Rotterdam, and elsewhere as well as deploying new vessels, introducing new services, expanding the business network, and reducing operational costs.