THE WORLD'S LARGEST CONTAINER SHIP

[Anchor Lead]

A Korean shipbuilder built the world's largest container ship. The shipowner is HMM, Korea's only ocean shipping company. This giant vessel is expected to provide a much needed momentum for the Korean shipbuilding and shipping industries struggling from the COVID-19 pandemic.

[Pkg]

A loud blare of the horn signals the launch of the world's largest container ship. This ship, 400 meters long and 61 meters wide, is as big as four soccer fields. It is capable of carrying some 24,000 20-feet containers. If the six-meter-long containers were all lined up in a straight line, it would measure 145 kilometers in length, the distance between Seoul and Daejeon. This container ship will travel to and from Europe in the latter half of this year.

[Soundbite] KWON MIN-CHEOL(DAEWOO SHIPBUIDLING & MARINE ENGINEERING) : "It's an environmentally friendly vessel equipped with de-sulfurization devices. It's also a cutting-edge ship with smart equipment capable of the most efficient operation."

The company that placed the order was HMM, the only ocean shipping company in Korea. The order for this container carrier was placed in 2018 when the Korean shipbuilding and shipping industries were going through their worst slump. Two years ago, the government set up financial grounds for shipping industry subsidies to revive the shipbuilding and marine transport industries. Meanwhile, the shipping company placed orders for 12 super container carriers with local shipbuilders. These measures helped Korean shipbuilders go back to work and the restructured shipping company helped with freight cost competitiveness.

[Soundbite] PRES. MOON JAE-IN : "Just as Admiral Yi Sun-sin overcame the national crisis with only 12 ships some 400 years ago, these 12 super container ships are going to revive the Korean shipping industry."

The government decided to grant additional assistance of 1.25 trillion won to the shipping industry to weather the pandemic-induced recession.