Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) has secured an order for bulkers after a three-year hiatus.
The Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering subsidiary has struck a deal with Thenamaris for four firm ultramax bulk carriers to be built at sister shipyard Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding.
It is not known if the contract includes any option vessels.
Shipbuilding sources said the Greek shipowner is paying $36.5m each for the 63,000-dwt newbuildings, which will meet the International Maritime Organization’s Tier III NOx standards.
It is due to take delivery of the quartet between mid-2024 and the first quarter of 2025.
Officials at HMD declined to comment on the shipyard’s newbuilding activities, citing contract confidentiality, while Thenamaris did not reply to emails seeking confirmation.
The ultramaxes that Thenamaris ordered at the South Korean-owned shipyard are around 12% more expensive than similar vessels at Chinese yards, but lower than the $40m that Japanese shipbuilders are seeking.
China Merchants Bank Financial Leasing recently concluded a deal for a series of four 63,000-dwt bulkers at New Dayang Shipbuilding in China at a price of $32.5m each.
Sources said Thenamaris, an old client of HMD, is paying a higher price due to the early delivery dates the shipyard offered.
“Thenamaris also knows that Hyundai Vietnam delivers good quality ships,” said a shipbuilding broker.
The Greek owner already has four 50,000-dwt MR product tankers under construction at Hyundai Vietnam. They were ordered early last year at a reported price of $36m apiece and are scheduled to be delivered this year.
Thenamaris also has two 82,000-dwt kamsarmax bulkers booked at Sino-Japanese yard Nantong Cosco KHI Ship Engineering in China for delivery in the first half of 2023. The pair was reported to cost about $27m each.
Shipbuilding sources said the last bulker order that Hyundai Vietnam signed was in 2019. It was contracted by Piraeus-based Atlantic Bulk Carriers to build two 61,000-dwt ships. The duo, Desert Pioneer and Desert Seeker, was delivered in January and March this year.
Sources said Hyundai Mipo has always been keen to secure more bulker orders but did not sign any deals in the past three years as the price for the ship type was too low.
“The shipbuilding market has improved and [the] current price level for bulk carriers is deemed acceptable,” said one shipbuilding source.
