13,000-TEU vessel handed over to French shipping company

Auto-securing technology boosts cargo loading efficiency by 10%

A 13,000-TEU container ship equipped with the lashing-free technology developed by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries undergoes sea trials. [HD Hyundai Heavy Industries]
A 13,000-TEU container ship equipped with the lashing-free technology developed by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries undergoes sea trials. [HD Hyundai Heavy Industries]

HD Hyundai announced Tuesday that it has built and delivered the world's first lashing-free container ship — a 13,000-TEU vessel that eliminates the need for workers to manually secure cargo — to a French shipping company.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries independently developed and validated all components of the lashing-free technology, while HD Hyundai Samho handled the detailed design and construction of the vessel. The lashing-free container ship eliminates the conventional process of manually fastening containers with lashing equipment, preventing cargo loss at the source and maximizing logistics efficiency.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries developed a standardized version of the "portable bench" — a structural component that transfers the load of containers stacked on the upper deck to the hull — and extended the cell guide, which supports containers aligned vertically inside the cargo hold, all the way up to the upper deck.

The portable bench is built to the same dimensions as a 40-foot container, making it compatible with the port cranes used to load and unload cargo. The company expects the technology to become a key enabler of automation and unmanned operations across the broader logistics chain connecting land and sea, including container terminals.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries also developed the "Twistlock Rooting System," a container-securing technology that firmly fastens to the hull containers stacked outside the range of the cell guide.

Compared with conventional vessels of the same type, the lashing-free container ship can carry more than 10 percent more cargo weight on deck and is capable of transporting containers stably even in rough seas.

The lashing-free technology developed by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries was introduced as South Korea's representative technology for container loss prevention at the 10th session of the Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers under the International Maritime Organization in 2024, and received the Jang Yeong-sil Award this year.


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