Over 80 Vessels! Hengli Heavy Industry Secures Its First Dual-Fuel VLCC Order, Ranking First Globally in Order Backlog

AET, the tanker subsidiary of Malaysia International Shipping Corporation (MISC), has made a comeback to the VLCC newbuilding market after a five-year hiatus and will order an LNG-fueled VLCC from Hengli Heavy Industries.

According to TradeWinds, AET recently signed a series of LNG dual-fuel VLCC orders with Hengli Heavy Industries; the exact number remains undisclosed, though market sources suggest it could range from four to six vessels. The price per newbuild has not been announced, but shipbrokers estimate that each vessel will cost approximately US$138 million (about RMB 942 million).

Ship brokers report that the cost of ordering a conventional-fuel VLCC from Hengli Heavy Industries is approximately US$119 million, while upgrading it to an LNG dual-fuel vessel entails an additional expense of about US$19 million.

For reference, Clarkson’s data show that the current price for a new 315,000–320,000-dwt LNG-fueled VLCC is approximately US$150 million (about RMB 1.025 billion), essentially unchanged from US$145.5 million at the same time last year.

This order is part of AET’s fleet renewal and restructuring program. As a long-term strategic initiative, AET sold four conventional-fuel VLCCs between last summer and February this year to rejuvenate its fleet and maintain a high-efficiency vessel mix. Following the completion of these sales, AET now operates a total of nine VLCCs, five of which are dual-fuel LNG-powered vessels.

If this order is confirmed, it will mark AET’s first VLCC build since 2021. According to reports, the company last ordered VLCCs in 2021, when it placed an order with South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding (now Hanwha Ocean) for three LNG-fueled dual-fuel VLCCs, all of which were subsequently chartered on long-term contracts with Shell.

According to available information, AET is an oil tanker company under Malaysia’s MISC Group, operating a fleet of more than 70 vessels, including dual-fuel LNG and ammonia-powered ships. The company currently has six newbuilds under construction: one ethanol-fuel-ready shuttle tanker and three ammonia-fueled LR2 tankers built by Dalian Shipbuilding, as well as two LNG-fueled Suezmax tankers constructed by South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries.

The AET order also marks Hengli Heavy Industries’ first LNG dual-fuel VLCC contract. According to Clarkson’s data, excluding the latest order, Hengli Heavy Industries currently holds a total of 80 VLCC orders on hand, far surpassing Hanwha Ocean in second place (35 vessels) and making it the shipyard with the largest VLCC order book worldwide.

In the first quarter of this year, Hengli Heavy Industry kicked off a new chapter with robust growth momentum, securing a total of 108 new shipbuilding contracts, including 76 oil tankers—comprising 54 VLCCs, 18 Suezmax tankers, and 4 LR2 product tankers—alongside 12 container ships, 16 bulk carriers, and 4 cryogenic vessels.

According to reports, Hengli Heavy Industry’s predecessor, STX Dalian, was once China’s largest foreign-invested shipyard and boasted the largest single shipyard facility in Northern China. In 2022, in response to the national call, Hengli Group established Hengli Heavy Industry Group and spent RMB 2.11 billion to bid for and acquire the former STX Dalian assets, which had been left idle for a decade, with the aim of building a world-class, high-end shipbuilding base. In January 2023, the first phase of Hengli Heavy Industry—the “Ocean Factory”—achieved full-scale operations in just 150 days, while the second phase—the “Future Factory”—was commissioned within five months in January 2025. In September 2025, the Hengli Heavy Industry Collaborative Innovation and Offshore Engineering Technology Industrial Park broke ground on Changxing Island in Dalian.

Once all projects under the Hengli Heavy Industry series reach full production capacity, the facility will be able to build more than 150 ultra-large vessels and manufacture 180 marine engines annually, including G95 main engines and smaller models. It will also offer comprehensive dual-fuel capabilities for LNG, LPG, methanol, and ammonia, making it the world’s largest single-site shipbuilding base with the most complete supporting infrastructure.

According to Clarkson’s data, Hengli Heavy Industries currently holds orders for a total of 276 vessels, amounting to 50.6 million deadweight tons and 10.24 million CGT. Measured in CGT, the company ranks first among single-shipyard operators worldwide. The order book comprises 123 oil tankers, 93 bulk carriers, 56 container ships, and 4 LPG carriers, with delivery schedules extending as far as 2030.