HMM announced on the 23rd that it attended the farewell ceremony for the Cheonghae Unit, held on the Munmu the Great, and provided sponsorship funds.
The Cheonghae Unit is a special forces division of the Republic of Korea Navy deployed to protect commercial vessels threatened by Yemeni and Somali pirates. Since March 2009, a total of six ships have been dispatched in six-month rotations to ensure the safety of domestic export and import vessels passing through the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. The Gulf of Aden is a critical area that vessels heading to Europe must pass through to transit the Suez Canal.
As the only national shipping company operating regular routes in European waters, HMM had various vessels, including its flagship 24,000 TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) container ships, frequently passing through the Gulf of Aden until the recent incidents in the Red Sea made passage through the Suez Canal challenging.
On the 21st, HMM attended the farewell ceremony for the Cheonghae Unit, organized by the Operational Command, to express gratitude and wish for safe navigation. Additionally, it provided sponsorship funds to purchase morale-boosting supplies for soldiers conducting long-term operations abroad.
A representative from HMM said, "I always have gratitude for the soldiers of the Cheonghae Unit who work hard to protect maritime trade routes," and noted, "We will put more effort into social contributions related to the shipping industry."
Meanwhile, HMM is engaged in various social contribution activities related to its primary business in shipping, such as "international relief goods transportation support" and the "waste rope recycling project" to produce nylon raw materials from waste ropes generated on ships.