South Korea’s Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) has secured orders for nine newbuildings worth KRW 704bn ($583m).
In a regulatory filing, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co (KSOE) said the Ulsan-based shipyard has signed newbuilding contracts with four separate companies that are based in Europe and Oceania.
It did not disclose the identity of the buyers but said the contracts involved two LNG-fuelled roll-on/roll-off (ro ro) ships, six 2,800-teu container ships and one LNG bunker newbuilding.
"The ships will be delivered to the unidentified clients beginning in the second half of 2023," KSOE said.
Shipbuilding sources said two of the 2,800-teu boxship newbuildings were ordered by Euroseas.
On Tuesday, the Aristides Pittas-led company disclosed that it has placed an order with HMD to build a pair of 2,800-teu eco design fuel-efficient feeders early for around $85m. It is slated to take delivery of one vessel during the fourth quarter of 2023 and the other ship in the first quarter of 2024.
KSOE is the holding company for Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries and HMD. The shipbuilding group has set an order target of $17.4bn for 2022 of which HMD is responsible for $3.6bn of the sales.
Last month, KSOE aborted the plan to take over the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering stake that is owned by state-owned Korea Development Bank (KDB), following the European Commission’s veto of the deal.
KDB chairman Lee Dong-gull said the EU’s move was “extremely selfish and only prioritising the interests of its member countries”, according to reports by South Korean news agencies.
Lee has urged KSOE to take legal action against the EU’s decision.
