HD Hyundai Secures $1.46 Billion Container Ship Order and Increases U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership

Record Container Ship Order Marks Strongest Year Since 2007

HD Hyundai has secured a landmark $1.46 billion contract for eight ultra-large container ships, representing the shipbuilder's largest single order volume in 18 years. Announced on November 23, 2025, the contract with Korean shipping company HMM covers 13,400 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) LNG dual-fuel vessels, each measuring 337 meters in length, 51 meters in width, and 27.9 meters in height.

These ships will feature LNG dual-fuel propulsion engines and fuel tanks expanded by approximately 50% for enhanced operational efficiency. Two ships will be constructed by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries while six more by HD Hyundai Samho; deliveries are anticipated throughout the first half of 2029.

This contract elevates HD Hyundai's 2025 container ship order portfolio to 69 vessels totaling 720,000 TEUs, marking the second-highest annual order volume in company history. The 2007 shipbuilding supercycle remains the benchmark, when the company secured 102 vessels with a combined capacity of 793,473 TEUs.

Technological Innovation and Efficiency Fuel Market Competitiveness

Despite commanding prices 20 to 30 percent higher than Chinese competitors, HD Hyundai's vessels are favored by major shipping lines for verified fuel efficiency, performance, and safety credentials. The company has applied its proprietary HiNAS Control autonomous navigation assistance system—developed by subsidiary Avikus—to newly built vessels since 2023.

Operational data confirms that HiNAS Control's autonomous navigation support features and RPM optimization deliver a 15 percent reduction in carbon emissions and a 15 percent improvement in fuel efficiency. These technological advantages position HD Hyundai as a leader in the industry's decarbonization efforts, aligning with growing regulatory pressures and customer sustainability mandates.

Strategic United States Partnerships Are Reshaping Shipbuilding Landscape

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) recently entered into an agreement that strengthens their partnership for shipbuilding projects across America, including distributed shipbuilding, flexible ship construction and U.S. Navy auxiliary programs. On October 26th 2025 they executed an MOU to further collaborate on distributed shipbuilding programs as well as collaborative efforts on U.S. Navy auxiliary programs.

This partnership, formed from an earlier memorandum of understanding signed in April 2025, represents an attempt by U.S. shipbuilding industry firms to strengthen their industrial base. They plan on making joint investments in modular construction techniques, exploring teaming opportunities for Navy auxiliary shipbuilding programs, as well as cooperating on engineering research & development as well as technology implementation for areas like artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics & automation.

In early October, HII and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries agreed to jointly pursue the U.S. Navy's next-generation logistics ship (NGLS) design contract, leveraging HII's complex shipbuilding experience and HHI's proven designs currently in service with the Royal New Zealand and South Korean navies.

HD Hyundai Secures Global Expansion Through Corporate Restructuring

HD Hyundai recently combined its shipbuilding operations through the merger of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and HD Hyundai Mipo into one entity to increase synergy across naval, commercial, and mid-sized ship operations. Revenue projections by 2035 for this newly created entity is projected at 37 trillion won ($25.2 billion), with 10 trillion expected from defense-related revenue streams alone.

This restructuring integrates HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' naval expertise with Mipo's dock capacity and workforce, positioning the company to compete more effectively with Chinese and Japanese rivals. The consolidation strengthens HD Hyundai's capabilities in defense shipbuilding, eco-friendly vessel development, and specialized markets such as icebreakers amid growing Arctic demand.

Digital Transformation and U.S. Navy Engagement

HD Hyundai and Siemens have joined forces to drive digitalization and modernization within the American vessel construction industry. Leveraging Siemens Xcelerator as its digital backbone, their partnership will aim to streamline shipbuilding processes while increasing efficiencies across America's industrial base.

These initiatives align with the $150 billion Make American Shipbuilding Great Again (MASGA) initiative, a Korea-U.S. project aimed at revitalizing American shipbuilding capacity. In November 2025, U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Caudle visited HD Hyundai Heavy Industries to discuss future cooperation and review the company's shipbuilding technologies and competitiveness.