HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering is eating quickly into its 2024 order target of $13.5bn after its fifth newbuilding contract of the year.
The South Korean group disclosed that its latest deal covers two 88,000-cbm VLGCs worth KRW 310bn ($235m) or close to $118m per ship.
It means, that less than one month into the new year, the shipbuilder has secured 17.7% of its annual target.
HD KSOE did not disclose the identity of the buyer but said it is from the Middle East.
Gas specialists named energy trader BGN as the firm behind the order.
Ulsan-based HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will be building the duo and is scheduled to deliver them by November 2027.
Sources said the LPG dual-fuel vessels will be used for transporting LPG.
BGN is said to have signed the contract when it was in South Korea last week to launch two LPG dual-fuel VLGCs that it co-owns with Indonesia’s Pertamina Shipping International.
The 91,000-cbm vessels, to be named Pertamina Gas Tulip and Pertamina Gas Bergenia, will be delivered soon.
The companies’ partnership is designed to strengthen Pertamina Shipping International’s position as a global shipping player while reinforcing BGN’s position as an emerging shipowner.
BGN, which has offices in Dubai, Geneva, Houston, Rotterdam and Singapore and a presence in 23 countries, is a significant LPG trader and supplier to Indonesia. It has also partnered Al Seer Marine to form ABGC DMCC on three VLGC newbuildings — two at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries and one at Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries. They are due for delivery between 2025 and 2026.
HD KSOE — the holding company for HD HHI, Hyundai Samho and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard — has set a “conservative” order target for 2024 compared with last year, due to a bulging orderbook that will keep its shipyards busy over the next few years.
BGN is the fourth company to have ordered VLGC newbuildings with HD KSOE this year. Norway’s Solvang booked two conventionally fuelled 88,000-cbm LPG carriers, while Turkey’s PascoGas and Qatar’s Nakilat ordered very large ammonia carriers, with the former ordering two and the latter four.
Nakilat also ordered two LNG carriers there.
Last week, HMD was contracted by Pertamina to build 15 product tanker newbuildings worth around $700m: five clean MR petroleum tankers, five dirty MR petroleum tankers and five MR IMO type 2/3 chemical/product tankers.
All 15 will have a capacity of 50,000 dwt each.
