Latsco Shipping has signed a $182m deal for two VLCC newbuildings at Hyundai Heavy Industries, bringing its orderbook of the large tankers at the South Korean shipyard to four.
The shipyard's parent, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE), said on Tuesday that the 300,000-dwt crude carriers had been ordered, without naming the company behind the deal.
KSOE, the Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings company that controls its shipyard subsidiaries, said a European outfit has booked the crude tankers for delivery from the first half of 2022. The company said the newbuildings cost $91m each.
TradeWinds understands that Latsco booked the scrubber-fitted VLCCs by exercising options it held from a November order for the previous two vessels. HHI is due to deliver the pair in June and September 2022.
Officials at the yard declined to comment, citing contract confidentiality, while Latsco did not respond to requests for comment.
It appears that Latsco is paying $1m per ship more for its latest newbuildings, as its earlier newbuildings were reported to cost $90m each.
One shipbuilding expert said it is unusual for shipowners to pay a higher price when exercising options.
Early this month, several shipyards told TradeWinds that they were looking to jack up their shipbuilding prices due to rising material costs and the weak US dollar.
Steel plate is said to have increased by 40% since 2019 and over the past six months, the South Korean won and Chinese yuan have strengthened by almost 10% against the dollar.
Greek duo
Latsco was the second Greek company to break into the VLCC segment through newbuildings last year. Evangelos Pistiolis’ Central Shipping Group also signed up for two newbuildings at HHI in May, then doubled the order to four in September.
Shipbuilding sources believe the low shipbuilding price was one of the reasons that attracted Latsco and Central Shipping to invest in VLCCs.
Banchero Costa head of research Ralph Leszczynski said that in addition to attractive pricing, VLCCs that were built in the early 2000s are due for replacement.
KSOE said it secured orders for 27 VLCC newbuildings last year, which amounts to about 65% of the global orderbook for such tankers. Some of the companies that have signed up VLCCs with the shipbuilding group included Athenian Sea Carriers, Hyundai Glovis, Kyklades Maritime and Chinese-backed Everest Korea Finance Advisory.
KSOE controls HHI, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard.
