Greek shipowner Evangelos Marinakis seems to be wasting little time in expanding his presence in the medium gas carrier sector.
Marinakis-controlled Capital Maritime is understood to be behind four LPG carrier newbuildings announced today by South Korea’s HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE).
The shipbuilding group said its subsidiary, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, will build the quartet for an unnamed European company.
The total value of the contract is KRW 420.7bn ($312m) or about $78m per ship.
HD KSOE did not disclose the size of the LPG ships but TradeWinds has learned they are of 45,000 cbm.
Sources named Capital Maritime as the owner behind the MGC quartet. HMD is scheduled to deliver two newbuildings in 2027 and two in 2028.
The ships will be dual fuel LPG with, with an option to have dual fuel ammonia engines.
News of the Greek company planning to order the LPG ships was first reported in TradeWinds last month.
At that time, Capital Maritime was said to be looking to contract two firm ships plus options for two additional units.
The newbuilding deal at HMD brings Capital Maritime’s total number of MGCs on order to six.
In March, the company was reported to have contracted Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering Co in China to build two firm 40,000-cbm newbuildings. The contract included an option for two ships.
The Chinese shipyard is slated to deliver one newbuilding in 2027 and the second ship by April 2028.
Brokers have priced the Chinese ships at around $66m apiece.
The order for four MGCs marks the third newbuilding contract that Marinakis’ companies have signed with HD KSOE this year, bringing its total expenditure at Hyundai yards in 2024 to $1.537bn.
In January, Capital Group booked two 22,000-cbm liquefied CO2 carriers at HMD at around $72.5m apiece for delivery by November 2026.
The following month, Capital Maritime inked four 174,000-cbm LNG vessels worth $1.08bn, or $270m per ship, at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries for delivery in 2028.
Clarksons’ Shipping Intelligence Network shows Capital Maritime has built up an orderbook of 37 newbuildings. It has four VLCCs on order at CSSC Tianjin Shipbuilding and contracts for six suezmax tankers, four aframax product carriers, 13 LNG ships, two very large LPG/ammonia carriers, four feeder container ships and four CO2 carriers at various yards.
