Take on four new ships! South Korea's shipbuilding industry is approaching its annual order target

On July 8th, HD Hyundai (formerly Hyundai Heavy Industries Group) shipbuilding holding company HD Korea Shipbuilding Marine announced that the company had signed construction contracts for two ultra large liquefied petroleum gas (VLGC) transport ships and two finished oil transport ships with shipowners in the Middle East and Oceania regions, with a total contract amount of KRW 492.5 billion (approximately USD 356 million).

It is reported that two VLGCs will be built by HD Modern Heavy Industries Ulsan Shipyard and are planned to be delivered gradually before the end of June 2027; Two finished oil tankers will be built by HD Hyundai Weipu located in Ulsan and are scheduled to be delivered gradually by the end of March 2027.

These two VLGCs are also the third batch of VLGC orders undertaken by HD Korea Shipbuilding Ocean this year. On January 5th, the company announced that it had taken on two 88000 cubic meter VLGC orders from European shipowners, with a total contract amount of 303.2 billion Korean won (approximately 2.31 US dollars), and plans to deliver them gradually in the first half of 2027; On January 8th, the company announced that it had taken on two VLGC orders from shipowners in Oceania, with a total contract amount of 317.3 billion Korean won (approximately 241 million US dollars), and plans to deliver them gradually before March 2027. This time, HD Korea Shipbuilding Ocean has once again taken on VLGC orders after a six-month hiatus.

In addition, including the two finished oil tanker orders undertaken this time, HD Hyundai Oita (including its Vietnamese subsidiary Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding) has undertaken 40 finished oil tanker orders so far this year, with nearly 70 orders held, ranking first among global shipping companies.

It is worth mentioning that these four new ships are also the third and fourth batch of new ship orders that HD Korea Shipbuilding Ocean has undertaken continuously within a week since entering the second half of the year. On July 1st, the company announced that it had signed contracts with African shipowners for the construction of four 50000 deadweight tonnage MR product oil tankers, with a total contract amount of approximately 266.7 billion Korean won (approximately 192 million US dollars); On July 4th, the company announced that it had signed a construction contract with European shipowners for two ultra large liquid ammonia transport ships (VLACs), with a total contract amount of 328.6 billion Korean won (approximately 2.38 US dollars).

With HD Korea Shipbuilding Ocean taking on these four batches of new ship orders in the short term, the company is one step closer to achieving its full year order target.

Including the 4 new ship orders undertaken this year, HD South Korea Shipbuilding Marine has undertaken 122 ship and sea equipment orders this year, with a total contract amount of 12.95 billion US dollars (approximately 94.1 billion yuan), completing approximately 95.9% of its annual target of 13.5 billion US dollars. This includes 8 large LNG ships, 22 ultra large liquid ammonia transport ships (VLACs), 6 VLGCs, 4 medium ammonia dual fuel natural gas transport ships (MGCs), 8 LPG ships, 54 finished oil tankers, 1 ultra large ethane transport ship (VLEC), 6 VLCCs, 3 crude oil transport ships, and 2 liquefied carbon dioxide (CO2). LCO2 transport vessel, 2 car transport vessels (PCTC), 4 special vessels, 1 offshore platform upper module, and 1 floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU).