HMM has added a $732m series of LNG dual-fuel large pure car/truck carrier newbuildings to its growing orderbook, even though the company is up for sale.
The South Korean liner giant ordered six vessels of 10,800 ceu at China’s Guangzhou Shipyard International against long-term charter contracts with Hyundai Glovis.
State-owned China State Shipbuilding Corp is said to have announced the deal at a closed-door signing ceremony during Asia’s largest shipping exhibition, Marintec China.
HMM is the second company to have ordered giant car carrier newbuildings for charter to Hyundai Glovis. Canadian container ship tonnage provider Seaspan is the other.
Seaspan announced on Tuesday that it had ordered a series of LNG dual-fuel 10,800-ceu vessels at CSSC’s Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding. They will be ammonia and methanol-ready.
Seaspan did not disclose the number of car carriers it has ordered, but shipbuilding players said it is six.
In November, Hyundai Glovis said its board had authorised a plan for 12 newbuildings worth $1.84bn, with 2027 delivery dates.
At the time, Hyundai Glovis did not disclose the shipbuilders or the duration of the charter contracts. But car carrier players understand that it has fixed the vessels for 20 years.
Brokers also believe the $1.84bn figure is the value of the charter contracts, not the newbuilding price.
More options?
Chinese news agencies reported the contract value of the new car carriers at $1.46bn, or $122m per ship.
TradeWinds understands that Hyundai Glovis still holds options for eight more PCTC newbuildings at CSSC.
HMM is backed by state-owned Korea Development Bank, which holds a 20.69% stake. The national government has a 20% holding through Korea Ocean Business Corp.
KDB, which took over the management rights of HMM following a liquidity crisis in 2016, has started a process to sell its rights to the company, which has a market cap of KRW 11trn ($8.37bn).
Four or five companies were initially reported to be keen to acquire HMM. The shortlist of potential buyers has now been cut to two — Dongwon Group and a consortium including Harim Group and JKL Partners.
VesselsValue lists HMM with 57 ships worth $8.5bn, including 10 VLCCs, ultra-large container ships, an LNG carrier and capesize bulkers.
