HMM
HMM (legal entity HMM Co., Ltd.) is a global mainline operator headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1976, the line has spent 50 years building out its container service network and today operates a fleet of 75 vessels under the SCAC code HDMU. Total operated capacity stands near 850,000 TEU, placing the carrier among the recognised operators on its core trade lanes.
HMM is most active on the following corridors: Asia-Europe, Transpacific, Intra-Asia. Through its membership of the Premier Alliance, the carrier shares vessel capacity with ocean-network-express, Yang Ming on East-West services. Direct customer contact is available via +82 2 3706 5114 or the carrier's web portal at hmm21.com.
HMM sample transit times
Indicative point-to-point transit times for services on which HMM appears in rotation. Actual ETAs vary with vessel rotation, port congestion, weather and trans-shipment patterns. We update these figures every quarter against published carrier schedules.
| Origin | Destination | Transit | Frequency | Corridor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai, China | Los Angeles, USA | 14 days | Daily sailings | Transpacific |
| Shenzhen, China | Seattle, USA | 16 days | Weekly | Transpacific |
| Yantian, China | Vancouver, Canada | 17 days | Weekly | Transpacific |
How to track a HMM container
Tracking a HMM container starts with confirming the prefix. Look at the container's left-hand corner casting plate or the painted code on the door — the four-letter ISO 6346 owner code is followed by six numeric digits and a single check digit. Blue Water Facts no longer publishes a per-carrier owner-prefix list (see /accuracy/ for why); confirm the operator via the carrier's own tracking portal or your bill of lading. Visit hmm21.com, navigate to the carrier's tracking or "track and trace" portal, and paste the full container number. The portal will return current vessel position, the next scheduled port call, the estimated time of arrival (ETA) and the most recent equipment events such as gate-in, loaded, discharged and gate-out.
If the carrier portal does not return a result, the most likely causes are: the container has not yet been gate-in at the origin terminal, the bill of lading number is in a different format (check whether the system expects an MBL versus an HBL), or the box is moving on a partner alliance vessel rather than a HMM hull. In the last case, the schedule data lives with the operating carrier, not the equipment owner. HMM's customer service can normally cross-reference the booking and route you to the correct alliance partner. Reach the carrier on +82 2 3706 5114 during European business hours.
Related ocean carriers
Operators most often compared with HMM on overlapping trade lanes:
- Ocean Network Express — Singapore, founded 2017. SCAC ONEY.
- Yang Ming — Keelung, Taiwan, founded 1972. SCAC YMLU.
- KMTC Line — Seoul, South Korea, founded 1954. SCAC KMTU.
- Sinokor Merchant Marine — Seoul, South Korea, founded 1989. SCAC SKLU.
- SM Line — Seoul, South Korea, founded 2016. SCAC SMLM.
- Dong Jin Shipping — Seoul, South Korea, founded 1972. SCAC DJSC.