Yang Ming names YM Weight, its fourth 15,500 TEU LNG dual-fuel ship
The HD Hyundai-built ship joins the Asia-West Mediterranean MS2 loop, routed via the Cape of Good Hope
Yang Ming Marine Transport has named YM Weight, the fourth of five 15,500 TEU-class LNG dual-fuel containerships it has on order at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. The ceremony took place on 17 September at the builder's yard in Ulsan, South Korea, and one ship of the series remains to be delivered.
YM Weight has a capacity of about 15,600 TEU and measures 364.97 metres in length and 51 metres in breadth. She is powered by a high-pressure dual-fuel main engine that can run on LNG or low-sulphur fuel oil, and carries energy-saving systems, integrated navigation and equipment monitoring, and broadband satellite communications.
The ship is jointly classed by CR Classification Society and the American Bureau of Shipping. Underwater noise measurements earned her the ABS Underwater Noise notation and the CR Underwater Radiated Noise notation, which address the sound a ship generates in operation and its potential impact on marine life.
She will enter Yang Ming's MS2 service between Asia and the West Mediterranean. The rotation calls at Pusan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Kaohsiung, Shekou and Singapore, then routes around the Cape of Good Hope to Tangier, Valencia, Barcelona, Genoa, La Spezia and Fos. The return leg also runs via the Cape and Singapore, calling at Laem Chabang, Cai Mep, Yantian and Pusan, before the loop crosses the Pacific to Long Beach and Oakland and returns to Pusan.
The Cape routing in both directions reflects the longer sailing distances now built into some Asia-Mediterranean networks in place of the Suez Canal passage.
Yang Ming is building crew experience alongside the LNG fleet. Senior Captain Ming-Yeong Pan, who takes YM Weight on her delivery voyage, was the first seafarer in Taiwan to receive an Advanced Training Certificate under the IGF Code, the international code for ships using gases or other low-flashpoint fuels. The carrier says 148 of its officers have now completed advanced IGF Code training and will progressively gain onboard experience on LNG-fuelled ships, as well as practical training in alternative-fuel bunkering.
YM Weight will be directly managed and operated by Yang Ming.
This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 29 September 2026.
