Kuwait and Cairo-based Arab Maritime Petroleum Transport Company (AMPTC) has ordered two VLGC newbuildings at a shipyard under the control of Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE).
In a regulatory filing, South Korean shipbuilding group KSOE said Ulsan-based Hyundai Heavy Industries would build the ships.
KSOE did not disclose the size of the vessels but shipbuilding sources said the gas carriers would each have a capacity of 91,000 cbm.
AMPTC is paying $103.5m apiece and is scheduled to take delivery of them by August 2026.
Gas players said AMPTC’s newbuildings are replacement vessels for the two VLGCs it currently has on the water. The duo — the 82,000-cbm Ocean Gas and Gas Alkhaleej (both built 2008) — were constructed by HHI sister yard Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.
AMPTC is believed to be the fourth company to have ordered VLGC newbuildings at Hyundai yards this year. The other three were Abu Dhabi-based ABGC DMCC, Greek shipping companies Evalend Shipping and Latsco Shipping. The companies ordered two vessels each.
According to Clarksons’ Shipping Intelligence Network (SIN), there are 82 VLGC newbuildings on order at shipyards in China, Japan and South Korea. Forty-one ships are scheduled to be delivered this year.
Gas sources said a few companies have been showing interest in VLGC newbuildings and this includes Eastern Pacific Shipping in Singapore. The Idan Ofer-controlled company was reported to be in contact with shipyards for up to six vessels.
Gas sources said the interest in VLGCs is driven by the strong market fundamentals. They said the market outlook for the ship type looks good due to the growing Asian demand for LPG. US production of LPG is also set to increase due to the war in Ukraine.
The world is also expecting an increase in the use of ammonia and the new VLGC ships that shipping companies are ordering can also be used to transport the cargoes.
AMPTC is listed with 11 vessels by SIN. The fleet consists of two VLGCs, six suezmax tankers and three aframax tankers.
In 2021, AMPTC contracted HHI to build four LNG dual-fuelled LR2 tankers. The 114,000-dwt product carriers were reported to cost $82m a piece and are scheduled to be delivered by the first half of 2024.
