[THE INVESTOR] Struggling Hyundai Merchant Marine will install four new gantry cranes at its container terminal based in Taiwan as part of the shipbuilder’s effort to strengthen service quality in the overseas market.

HMM will complete setting up the large gantry cranes -- which are used to lift shipping container -- at Kaosiung Hyundai Terminal in Taiwan on July 12, the company said on July 11. 


The terminal will be able to handle 700,000 twenty-foot-equivalent-unit volume annually, an increase from 400,000 TEU. With the installation, container ships with a capacity of 10,000 TEU can now dock at the terminal, an increase from the 80,000 TEU previously.

“We are planning on strengthening our overseas terminal to increase competitive edge in our business,” an official at HMM said.

Besides HMM’s Asian terminal, HMM is also planning on improving its American terminals. The company said it will expand the size of the terminal, automate the system and install more mega cranes at the Washington United Terminals in Tacoma, Washington.

HMM now operates four terminals abroad, including California United Terminals, Washington United Terminals and Kaosiung Hyundai Terminal, and cooperates Rotterdam World Gateway in the Netherlands, with three international shipping companies and a terminal operator DP World.



By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)